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UNIVERSITY    OF    ILLINOIS    LIBRARY    AT    URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


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DEC  15  1985 


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A  REPORT 

ON  THE 

ADMINISTRATION 

OF 

LABOR  and  MINING  LEGISLATION 
IN    ILLINOIS 

BY 

W.  F.  DODD 

ASSOCIATE  PROFESSOR  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

PREPARED  FOR  THE 

EFFICIENCY  AND  ECONOMY  COMMITTEE 

CREATED  UNDER  THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE 
FORTY-EIGHTH  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY 

STATE  OF  ILLINOIS 


SENATORS 


WALTER  I.  MANNY,  Chairman  - 
W.  DUFF  PIERCY      .... 

LOGAN  HAY 

CHARLES  F.  HURBURGH      - 

REPRESENTATIVES 

CHARLES  F.  CLYNE,  Secretary  - 
SPEAKER  WILLIAM  McKINLEY  - 
JOHN  M.  RAPP  .... 

EDWARD  J,  SMEJKAL     - 


Mt.  Sterling 

Mount  Vernon 

-    Springfield 

Galesburg 


Aurora 

Chicago 

Fairfield 

Chicago 


JOHN  A.  FAIRLIE,  Director 


Urbana 


THE  WINDERMERE  PRESS,  CHICAGO 


CONTENTS 

,  Page 

I.  Introduction 5-6 

II.  Department  of  Factory  Inspection  7-30 

Historical  Note   7 

Powers  of  the  Department 7 

Organization    8 

List  of  Principal  Laws 9 

Powers  and  Duties  Under  Particular  Statutes 10 

:  ^       Act  to  Regulate  the  Manufacture  of  Clothing,  1893 10 

Act  to  Compel  Use  of  Blowers  on  Metal  Polishing  Machines,  1897 11 

Child  Labor  Law 12 

Butterine  and  Ice  Cream  Inspection  Act 19 

Act  for  the  Protection  of  Employees  Engaged  in  Structural  Work. ..     20 

Health,  Safety  and  Comfort  of  Employees 21 

Hours  of  Labor  of  Women 22 

Protection  from  Occupational  Diseases 23 

Other  Acts  Enforcible  by  the  Factory  Inspector's  Office 25 

Relation   of    Department    of    State    Factory   Inspection    to    Other    State 

Offices    ■ 25 

Relation  of  the  Department  of  Factory  Inspection  to  Local  Authorities.  .  26 
General  Survey  of  Organization  and  Work , 27 

III.  Commissioners  of  Labor  and  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics 31-35 

Historical  Note   31 

Accident  Reports   32 

Mines  and  Mining 32 

Private  Employment  Agencies 33 

Free  Employment  Offices 33 

Workmen's  Compensation  Act 33 

Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics .' 33 

Present  Position  of  Bureau 34 

IV.  Private  Employment  Agencies 36-42 

Organization  of  the  Enforcing  Authority 38 

Duties  of  the  Enforcing  Authority 38 

Finances    40 

Reports  40 

V.  Free  Employment  Offices  43-47 

VI.  Industrial  Board  48-50 

VII.  State  Board  of  Arbitration 51-54 

Arbitration     51 

Conciliation  and  Investigation    52 

ii  Activities  of  the  State  Board  of  Arbitration 53 

VIII.  Mining  Authorities  55-67 

Cj  State  Mining  Board  and  Mine  Inspectors 55 

^  Miners'  Examining  Board 60 

g  Mine  Fire  Fighting  and  Rescue  Stations 61 

j^  Miners'  and  Mechanics'  Institutes 62 

M  Mining  Investigation  Commission 63 

,rt  Suggestions  Regarding  the  Administration  of  Mining  Legislation 64 


Page 

IX.  Accident  Reporting   68-74 

Industrial  Board   68 

Public  Utilities  Commission 70 

State  Mine  Inspectors 70 

Department  of  Factory  Inspection 71 

Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics 72 

Character  of  Reports 72 

Purposes  of  Accident  Reporting yz 

The  Employer  Under  the  Present  Situation 75 

Suggestions    75 

X.  General  Summary  and  Recommendations 77-87 

Recent  Development  in  Other  States 11 

Present  Situation  in  Illinois 81 

Recommendations    83 

Legislative    Methods    of    Carrying    the    Above    Recommendations    into 
Effect    85 

XI.  Summary  of  Recent  Legislation  in  Other  States 88-103 

Wisconsin  Industrial  Commission 88 

Industrial  Commission  of  Ohio 91 

New  York  Department  of  Labor 92 

Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor 95 

Massachusetts   96 

California    98 

Oregon  Welfare  Commission 102 

Kansas  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry 103 


REPORT   ON  LABOR  AND   MINING  ADMINISTRA- 
TION. 

BY  W.   F.  DODD,  UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS. 

I.     INTRODUCTION. 

The  field  of  labor  legislation  is  one  in  which  primary  emphasis 
must  be  placed  upon  efficiency  rather  than  upon  economy.  With  the 
expenditure  of  funds  now  appropriated  to  the  various  labor  bureaus 
in  Illinois  a  much  more  effective  administration  can  be  had,  but  in 
order  to  enforce  the  present  body  of  labor  legislation  in  an  efifective 
manner  it  is  probable  that  more  money  will  have  to  be  spent  than 
at  present.  One  of  the  essential  difficulties  in  the  present  situation 
is  that  there  are  not  enough  inspectors  to  enforce  adequately  the 
various  safety  regulations,  even  if  the  inspection  service  were  effi- 
ciently organized.  However,  a  centralized  organization,  with  the  do- 
ing away  of  present  conflicting  and  overlapping  jurisdictions,  should 
accomplish  a  great  deal,  even  without  an  increase  of  appropriations. 

There  are  now  a  number  of  official  bodies  vested  with  power  to 
administer  the  labor  laws  of  Illinois,  and  the  powers  of  these  bodies 
are  often  overlapping.  The  first  labor  body  created  was  the  Bureau 
of  Labor  Statistics,  established  in  1879,  under  the  supervision  of  a 
Board  of  Commissioners  of  Labor.  This  Bureau  had  primarily  the 
functions"  of  collecting  and  publishing  information,  but  from  1883 
to  1907,  it  also  had  supervision  over  the  mine  inspection  service. 

As  new  needs  have  been  felt  new  bodies  have  been  constituted  to 
meet  them.  In  1893  the  Factory  Inspector's  Office  was  created;  in 
1895  a  State  Board  of  Arbitration  was  constituted.  Beginning  in 
1899  control  was  established  over  private  employment  agencies,  and 
from  1903  to  1909  this  control  was  exercised  directly  by  the  Com- 
missioners of  Labor.  Since  1909  the  direct  supervision  is  exercised 
by  a  chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies,  but  a  power 
to  grant  and  revoke  licenses  is  vested  in  the  Commissioners  of  Labor. 
Beginning  in  1899,  free  employment  offices  have  been  established  in 
a  number  of  cities ;  these  offices  are  substantially  independent,  but 
report  to  the  Commissioners  of  Labor.  • 

The  administration  of  the  first  workmen's  compensation  law  (1911) 
was  vested  in  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  but  for  the  administra- 
tion of  the  act  of  1913,  a  new  body,  the  Industrial  Board,  was  created. 

With  respect  to  mining  there  has  been  a  similar  multiplication  of 
administrative  bodies,  and  we  now  have  not  only  the  State  Mining 
Board,  but  also  a  Miners'  Examining  Board,  a  Mine  Rescue  Com- 
mission and  a  temporary  Mining  Investigation  Commission, 


6  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

Each  field  of  labor  legislation  and  the  organization  for  its  adminis- 
tration, must  now  be  taken  up  somewhat  in  detail,  and  the  subjects 
are  discussed  in  the  following  order:  (1)  Department  of  Factory 
Inspection;  (2)  Commissioners  of  Labor  and  Bureau  of  Labor  Sta- 
tistics (together  with  free  and  private  employment  agencies)  ;  (3) 
Industrial  Board;  (4)  State  Board  of  Arbitration;  (5)  Mining  au- 
thorities. To  the  important  subject  of  accident  reporting  it  has  been 
thought  desirable  to  devote  a  separate  section  of  the  report.  After  a 
general  review  of  the  present  administrative  organization  for  the  en- 
forcement of  labor  legislation,  there  is  presented  a  general  summary 
together  with  a  recommended  plan  of  reorganization. 

Before  this  report  was  completed,  an  independent  investigation  of 
the  administration  of  labor  laws  in  Illinois  was  made  by  Mr.  E.  H. 
Downey  and  Mr.  Carl  Hookstadt,  for  the  United  States  Commission 
on  Industrial  Relations.  Assistance  has  been  received  from  the  re- 
sults of  this  investigation.  In  connection  with  child  labor,  assistance 
has  been  received  from  the  Children's  Bureau  of  the  United  States. 

Acknowledgement  is  made  to  Professor  F.  S.  Deibler,  of  North- 
western University,  for  assistance  in  connection  with  Section  XI  of 
this  report;  this  part  of  the  report  was  prepared  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Miller, 
of  the  University  of  Illinois. 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


11.  DEPARTMENT  OF  FACTORY  INSPECTION. 

Historical  Note. 

The  offices  of  State  Factory  Inspector,  Assistant  State  Factory 
Inspector  and  deputy  State  factory  inspector  were  first  created  by 
the  act  to  regulate  the  manufacture  of  clothing,  wearing  apparel,  etc. 
and  to  provide  for  inspection  thereof,  approved  June  17,  1893  and  in 
force  July  1,  1893.  The  department,  as  first  authorized,  was  to 
be  composed  of  a  factory  inspector  at  a  salary  of  $1,500,  an  assistant 
at  $1,000,  and  ten  deputy  inspectors,  five  of  whom  were  to  be  women, 
at  a  salary  of  $750  per  annum.  All  offices  thus  created  were  to  be 
filled  by  appointment  of  the  Governor,  the  chief  inspector  to  hold 
office  for  a  term  of  four  years  and  the  assistant  and  deputy  inspectors 
to  hold  office  during  good  behavior.  Under  the  act  of  1893,  as 
amended  in  1903,  inspectors  were  empowered  to  visit  and  inspect  at 
all  reasonable  hours  and  as  often  as  practicable,  the  workshops,  fac- 
tories and  manufacturing  establishments  in  this  state,  where  the  manu- 
facture of  goods  was  carried  on  and  to  perform  such  other  duties 
as  should  thereafter  be  prescribed  by  law.  A  duty  was  imposed  upon 
the  chief  inspector  to  report  in  writing  to  the  Governor,  on  the  15th 
day  of  December  annually,  the  result  of  inspections  and  investigations, 
together  with  such  other  information  and  recommendations  as  might 
be  deemed  proper.  It  was  also  the  duty  of  the  department  to  make 
special  investigations  into  alleged  abuses  in  any  workshop  whenever 
the  Governor  should  direct,  and  to  report  the  results  of  such  investi- 
gation to  the  Governor.  The  general  duty  to  enforce  the  provisions 
of  the  act  and  to  prosecute  all  violations  of  the  same  was  also  imposed 
upon  the  department.  The  inspector  was  required  by  the  amendment 
of  1903  to  divide  the  State  into  fifteen  inspection  districts  and  to 
assign  a  deputy  inspector  to  each  district,  such  deputy  to  have  charge 
of  actual  inspection  therein.  Reassignments  could  be  made  and  depu- 
ties changed  from  one  district  to  another  when  the  chief  inspector,  in 
his  discretion,  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  good  of  the  service  required 
it,  and  he  might  also  re-divide  the  State  when  he  deemed  such  a  re- 
division  advisable. 

Powers  of  the  Department. 

Under  the  acts  of  1893  and  1903  the  powers  of  the  state  factory 
inspector  were  to  "inspect workshops,  factories,  and  manufac- 
turing establishments  in  this  state  where  the  manufacture  of  goods  is 
carried  on,"  to  prosecute  all  violations,  and  to  make  report  of  inspec- 
tions and  of  the  general  work  of  the  office  to  the  Governor.  Under 
an  act  of  1907,  as  amended  in  1911,  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  chief 
state  factory  inspector  (1)   to  exercise  general  supervision  over  the 


8  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE 

department  of  factory  inspection;  (2)  to  secure  the  enforcement  of 
all  laws  now  in  force  or  hereafter  enacted,  relating  to  the  inspection 
of  factories,  mercantile  establishments,  mills,  workshops,  and  com- 
mercial institutions  in  the  state;  (3)  to  perform  such  other  duties  as 
are  now  or  may  hereafter  be  prescribed  by  law  to  be  performed  by 
the  factory  inspector;  (4)  to  visit  and  inspect,  or  to  have  his  deputies 
visit  and  inspect  at  all  reasonable  hours  as  often  as  practicable,  the 
factories,  mercantile  establishments,  mills,  workshops,  and  commercial 
intitutions  in  this  State,  where  goods,  wares  and  merchandise  are 
manufactured,  stored,  purchased,  or  sold  at  wholesale  or  retail;  (5) 
to  report  to  the  Governor  on  the  thirtieth  day  of  June  of  each  year 
the  result  of  his  inspections  and  investigations  with  such  other  infor- 
mation and  recommendations  as  he  may  deem  proper;  (6)  to  make 
special  investigations  into  conditions  of  labor  or  into  any  alleged  abuses 
in  connection  therewith,  when  called  upon  by  the  Governor  to  do  so ; 
(7)  to  prosecute  all  violations  of  law  relating  to  inspection  of  fac- 
tories, etc. ;  (8)  by  written  order  filed  with  the  Governor,  to  divide 
the  state  into  inspection  districts  and  to  assign  to  each  district  a 
deputy  inspector,  due  regard  being  had  to  the  number  of  establish- 
ments and  the  amount  of  work  required  to  be  performed  in  each 
district.  By  a  like  order  filed  with  the  Governor  he  may  re-divide 
the  state  into  inspection  districts  when  conditions  are  changed  or  in 
his  discretion  the  good  of  the  service  requires.  He  may  change  a 
deputy  from  one  district  to  another. 
Organization. 

Under  the  act  of  1907  the  composition  of  the  Department  of  Factory 
Inspection  was  as  follows : 

Name  Salary 

Chief   State   Factory   Inspector $3,000 

Assistant   Chief   Factory   Inspector 1,500 

25  Deputy  State  Factory  Inspectors 1,200 

Attorney  for  the  Department 1,500 

The  department  as  constituted  in  1913  under  the  act  of  1907  as 

amended  in   1911   and  under  the  appropriation  act  of   1913  was  as 

follows : 

Name  Salary 

Chief   State   Factory   Inspector $3,000 

Assistant   Chief   Factory   Inspector 2,250 

30  Deputy  State  Factory  Inspectors,  each 1,200 

One    Physician    1,500 

One  Chemist    1,500 

One   Chief   Clerk 1,200 

One   Stenographer    1,200 

Two   Stenographers  ,each 1,000 

One   Stenographer    900 

Two  Female   Investigators,   each 1,000 

Two  Clerks,  each 900 

One  Messenger  900 

Telephone    Operator    600 

Attorney   l.SOO 

An  editor  is  employed   out  of  the  general  appropriation   for  the 

State  department  of  factory  inspection. 

Under  the  act  of  1911  (approved  June  5)  it  was  provided  that  the 

Governor  should  appoint  the  chief  State  factory  inspector,  the  assist- 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  V 

ant  chief  State  factory  inspector,  thirty  deputy  factory  inspectors,  a 
physician,  and  an  attorney.  The  State  civil  service  amendment  act 
(approved  June  10,  1911)  exempted  from  its  terms  officers  appointed 
by  the  Governor,  subject  to  confirmation  by  the  Senate,  and  the 
State  civil  service  commission  assumed  that  the  factory  inspection 
officers  came  under  civil  service,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  confirmation 
by  the  Senate  was  not  specified.  The  present  attorney  general  has, 
however,  ruled  that  these  positions  are  exempt  because  confirmation 
by  the  Senate  is  implied  and  only  the  clerical  force  of  the  department 
of  factory  inspection  is  now  under  the  civil  service  law. 

List  of  Principal  Laws. 

The  following  laws  came  w'ithin  the  jurisdiction  of  this  department 
during  the  period  from  1893  to  1907: 

1.  The  act  to  regulate  the  manufacture  of  clothing,  wearing  ap- 
parel, etc. ;  and  to  provide  for  inspection  thereof,   1893. 

2.  The  act  to  regulate  the  employment  of  children,  approved  June 
9,  1897,  in  force  July  1,  1897. 

3.  The  act  to  compel  the  use  of  blowers  on  metal  polishing  ma- 
chines, approved  June  11,  1897,  in  force  July  I,  1897. 

4.  The  more  complete  child  labor  law  of  1903,  approved  May  15, 
in  force  July  1st. 

From  1897  to  1899  the  fire  escape  act  (of  1897)  was  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  factory  inspector's  office.  Before  1907  the  reports 
of  the  state  factory  inspector  (in  addition  to  the  general  show- 
ing of  statistical  information  and  results  obtained  in  the  enforcement 
of  the  above  laws)  contain  numerous  recommendations  for  the  en- 
largement of  the  office  and  for  the  extension  of  its  powers  and  duties. 
In  many  cases  actual  drafts  of  proposed  measures  were  inserted  in  the 
reports,  thus  calling  the  specific  attention  of  the  legislature  to  the 
needs  of  the  department.  In  1902,  a  draft  of  a  more  complete  child 
labor  law  was  submitted  in  the  annual  report,  it  being  practically  the 
act  as  finally  enacted  by  the  legislature  in  1903.  In  1903-04  were  pro- 
posed (1)  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  health,  safety,  and  comfort  of 
employees  in  manufacturing  establishments,  mercantile  industries,  mills, 
factories,  and  workshops,  (2)  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  sanitation  of 
all  food  producing  establishments,  and  (3)  a  bill  further  to  regulate 
the  manufacture  of  clothing.  In  1906  the  same  three  proposals  were 
again  the  subject  of  comment  and  along  therewith  were  submitted 
more  complete  drafts  of  the  measures  suggested.  In  1906,  the  enact- 
ment of  the  following  laws  was  urged  by  the  factory  inspector:  (1) 
An  act  to  provide  for  the  health,  safety,  and  comfort  of  employees. 
(2)  An  act  to  provide  for  the  sanitation  of  food-producing  establish- 
ments. (3)  An  act  to  protect  persons  engaged  in  construction,  repair- 
ing, alteration,  removal  of  buildings,  bridges,  and  viaducts.  (4)  A 
new  sweat-shop  law.  (5)  An  act  to  regulate  the  manufacture,  hand- 
ling and  storage  of  high  explosives.  (6)  An  act  to  provide  for  low 
water  alarms  on  steam  boilers.  (7) An  act  to  empower  the  factory 
inspector  to  secure  information  from  various  businesses.  (8)  An  act 
to  provide  for  better  fire  inspection.     (9)  An  act  to  protect  the  public 


10  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

from  fires  in  theaters.  (10)  An  act  prescribing  the  manner  of  con- 
struction of  theaters,  etc.  (11)  An  act  to  regulate  the  construction 
and  maintenances  of  tenements,  lodging  and  boarding  houses.  (12) 
An  act  to  provide  for  the  complete  reorganization  of  the  department 
of  factory  inspection.  (13)  An  act  calling  for  the  appointment  of  a 
commission  to  investigate  occupational  diseases. 

Acting  upon  the  recommendations  of  the  State  factory  inspector, 
the  Legislature  in  1907  passed  an  act  which  effected  a  reorganization 
of  the  department,  enlarged  its  powers  and  increased  the  general 
scope  of  its  activity.  At  the  same  session  of  the  legislature  the  com- 
mission for  the  study  of  occupational  diseases  and  the  commission  to 
investigate  the  needs  for  further  providing  for  the  health,  comfort 
and  safety  of  employes  were  created.  The  acts  providing  for  the  pro- 
tection of  employees  engaged  in  structural  work,  and  relating  to  butter- 
ine  and  ice  cream  factories  were  passed,  and  their  enforcement  vested 
in  the  department  of  factory  inspection. 

In  his  report  for  1908,  the  chief  inspector  calls  attention  to  his 
proposed  building  inspection  law,  comments  upon  the  work  of  the 
commission  on  occupational  diseases  and  upon  the  work  done  by  his 
department  in  securing  the  appointment  of  the  industrial  commission. 

In  a  very  general  way  the  above  summary  shows  the  work  of  the 
department  of  state  factory  inspection  along  the  line  of  recommenda- 
tion, both  as  regards  an  extension  of  the  powers  of  the  State  to 
authorize  inspections  and  to  enforce  regulations  for  the  general  pro- 
tection of  the  laboring  classes  and  of  the  public,  and  as  regards  the 
general  equipment  and  maintenance  of  the  administrative  machinery 
necessary  for  the  proper  enforcement  of  labor  laws.  Under  the  sec- 
tions dealing  in  detail  with  each  of  the  laws  enforcible  by  the  factory 
inspection  department  will  be  found  short  statements  dealing  with  the 
further  contents  of  the  reports. 

Following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  laws,  the  enforcement  of  which 
is  committed  to  the  department  of  factory  inspection: 

Act  to  regulate  manufacture  of  clothing 1893 

Act  to  provide  for  use  of  blowers  on  metal  polishing  machines.  .  . .  1897 

Child  labor  law 1897 

Child  labor  law 1903 

Act  providing  for  inspection  of  butterine  and  ice  cream  factories.  1907 
Act  providing   for  protection   of  laborers  engaged   in  structural 

work 1907 

Act  to  provide  for  health,  safety,  and  comfort  of  employees 1909 

Act  limiting  the  hours  of  labor  for  women 1909 

and  amendment  thereto  of 191 1 

Act  providing  for  protection  from  occupational  diseases 1911 

Act  providing  for  wash  rooms  in  certain  employments 1913 

POWERS    AND    DUTIES    UNDER    PARTICULAR    STATUTES. 

Act  to  regulate  the  manufacture  of  clothing,  i8p^.  This  act  pro- 
vides that  if  the  State  factory  inspector  or  city  boards  of  health  find 
evidence  of  infectious  or  contagious  diseases  present  in  any  workshop 
or  in  goods  manufactured  here  or  transported  to  this  State,  or  if  the 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


11 


inspector  or  boards  shall  finfi  said  shops  in  an  unhealthful  conditioti, 
etc.,  the  inspector  or  boards  shall  issue  such  order  or  orders  as  the 
public  health  shall  require. 

Any  person  occupying  or  controlling  a  workshop  is  required  to 
notify  the  city  board  of  health  within  fifteen  days  after  work  begins 
in  such  shop,  of  its  location,  the  nature  of  work,  and  the  number  of 
persons  employed  therein.  City  boards  of  health  are  empowered  to 
condemn  and  destroy  goods  made  under  unhealthful  conditions,  or 
unfit  for  use,  when  such  conditions  are  found  by  the  board  of  health 
itself  or  reported  to  it  by  the  factory  inspector.  The  first  report  of 
the  State  factory  inspector  in  1893  gives  an  account  of  inspections 
made  under  this  act  as  does  likewise  the  report  of  1895.  The  report 
for  1912-13  (in  manuscript)  contains  a  chapter  devoted  to  this  act. 

The  division  of  power  between  the  factory  inspector's  office  and 
local  boards  of  health  makes  difficulty  in  the  enforcement  of  this  act. 
Upon  inspection,  goods  are  found  which  may  be  condemned  under 
the  law,  but  such  goods  are  usually  removed  by  their  owners  before 
action  is  taken  by  the  local  boards  of  health,  and  no  penalty  is  im- 
posed for  such  removal. 

The  garment  workers'  law  is  also  defective  in  that  it  enumerates 
twelve  types  of  shops  (or  of  work)  subject  to  its  terms,  but  does 
not  cover  the  whole  subject  of  work  done  under  sweat-shop  or  other 
undesirable  conditions.  For  example,  the  factory  inspector's  office 
calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  does  not  cover  work  on  neckwear, 
gloves,  caps,  mittens,  garters,  and  gaiters.  For  this  reason  it  has  been 
necessary,  in  order  to  make  inspections  of  home  work,  to  construe 
home  work  as  being  done  in  workshops  coming  under  the  health,  safety, 
and  comfort  act  of  1909,  and  inspect  under  the  authority  granted  by 
that  act. 

Act  to  compel  use  of  blowers  on  metal  polishing  machines,  i8py 
In  general  this  act  lays  down  specific  requirements  concerning  the 
use  of  emery  wheels,  but  from  its  provisions  are  exempted  grinding 
machines  upon  which  water  is  used  at  the  point  of  grinding  contact, 
and  small  shops  employing  not  more  than  one  man.  It  contains  pro- 
visions as  to  the  manner  in  which  each  wheel  is  to  be  fitted  into  hoods, 
provision  concerning  blowers  and  suction  pipes,  their  construction,  at- 
tachment, etc.  Concurrently  with  the  sheriff,  constables,  and  prose- 
cuting attorneys,  the  state  factory  inspector  is  charged  with  the  duty 
(upon  his  receiving  notice  in  writing  signed  by  any  person  having 
knowledge  of  such  facts,  accompanied  by  the  sum  of  one  dollar,  that 
any  factory  or  workshop  is  not  provided  with  such  appliances  as  re- 
quired by  the  act)  to  visit  and  inspect  such  place,  and  if  violations 
of  the  law  are  found  it  is  his  duty  to  prosecute  therefor.  The  reports 
of  the  department  dealing  with  the  administration  of  the  above  act 
show  the  name  of  the  firm,  its  location,  number  of  men  employed, 
number  of  wheels  used,  number  of  wheels  unprotected,  number  of 
wheels  exempt,  date  of  inspection,  actual  orders  issued  with  the  time 
given  and  date  expired,  name  of  the  inspector  and  brief  remarks  con- 
cerning the  general  condition  of  the  establishment  inspected.  In  1909, 
172  inspections  were  made  in  Chicago  and  227  in  establishments  out- 
sidp  of  p5iicago.     For  the  year  1911-12,  235  inspections  were  made 


12  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

in  Chicago,  and  25  outside  of  Chicago.  For  the  year  1912-13,  71 
inspections  were  made  in  Chicago  and  39  outside.  With  reference 
to  the  success  of  the  department  in  the  enforcement  of  this  act,  the 
state  factory  inspector,  in  his  report  for  1909,  said:  "It  is  seldom 
now  that  our  inspectors  find  a  shop  where  metal  polishing  is  done 
on  an  extensive  scale  that  there  is  not  a  strict  compliance  with  the 
letter  and  spirit  of  the  law."  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  act  confers 
concurrent  powers  upon  state's  attorneys,  sheriffs  and  constables  to 
enforce  the  act.  No  statement  is  made  in  the  reports  concerning  the 
relation  with  local  authorities  nor  do  the  tables  of  statistics  showing 
the  general  results  of  inspections,  contain  any  information  submitted 
by  these  local  authorities.  The  report  for  1909  shows  that  227  in- 
spections of  metal  polishing  trades  were  made  outside  the  city  of 
Chicago  in  that  year.  The  number  of  cities  is  not  shown.  Among 
the  cities  for  which  the  report  contains  no  reference  to  inspections 
are  East  St.  Louis,  Peoria,  Aurora,  Cairo  and  Bloomington. 

The  chief  State  factory  inspector  says  that  no  use  has  been  made 
of  tiic  provision  of  law  with  reference  to  complaints  in  writing  ac- 
companied by  the  sum  of  one  dollar.  Inspections  are  made  just  as 
if  an  initial  duty  to  make  them  were  imposed  by  the  terms  of  the 
law. 

Child  Labor  Law.  There  are  three  separate  statutes  dealing  with 
the  subject  of  child  labor.  In  1893,  in  the  act  to  regulate  the  manu- 
facture of  clothing  and  wearing  apparel  is  contained  a  section  which 
provides  that  no  child  under  fourteen  (14)  years  of  age  shall  be  em- 
ployed in  any  manufacturing  establishment,  factory  or  workshop  with- 
in the  state ;  that  a  register  be  kept  by  any  person  who  employs  chil- 
dren between  the  ages  of  fourteen  (14)  and  sixteen  (16)  in  which 
is  to  be  recorded  the  name,  birthplace,  and  place  of  residence  of 
every  such  child ;  that  an  affidavit  as  to  age,  date  and  place  of  birth 
made  by  parent  or  guardian  of  every  child  between  fourteen  and 
sixteen  (or  by  the  child  if  there  is  no  parent  or  guardian)  shall  be 
required  before  it  shall  be  lawful  for  such  child  to  work.  The  register 
and  certificates  were  open  to  inspection,  upon  demand,  by  the  in- 
spector or  his  assistants,  j  The  section  further  provides  that  the  factory 
inspector  may  demand  a  certificate  of  physical  fitness  from  a  regular 
physician  in  the  case  of  children  who  appear  to  him  physically  unable 
to  perform  the  labor  at  which  they  may  be  engaged,  and  may  pro- 
hibit the  employment  of  any  minor  unable  to  furnish  such  a  certi- 
ficate. This  act  also  provides  that  in  every  room  where  children  under 
sixteen  (16)  are  employed  shall  be  kept  a  list  of  their  names,  ages 
and  places  of  residence.  This  act  applied  only  to  children  employed 
in  manufacturing  establishments,  fac-tories,  and  workshops. 

In  1897  in  the  "act  to  regulate  the  employment  of  children"  it  is 
provided  that  no  child  under  fourteen  (14)  shall  be  allowed  to  work 
for  wages  in  gainful  occupation  in  any  mercantile  institution,  store, 
office,  laundry,  manufacturing  establishment,  factory,  or  workshop. 
Registers  and  affidavits  of  parents  or  guardians  (or  of  child  without 
parent  or  guardian)  are  required  as  in  the  previous  act;  the  list  of 
persons  under  sixteen   (16)   is  likewise  required  to  be  posted.     It  is 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


13 


further  provided,  and  this  section  is  entirely  new,  that  sixty  (60) 
hours  per  week  and  ten  (10)  hours  per  day  shall  be  the  maximum 
number  of  hours  during  which  such  persons  may  be  legally  employed. 
A  prohibition  is  also  placed  upon  the  employment  of  a  child  under 
sixteen  (16)  years  of  age  in  any  extra-hazardous  employment  whereby 
its  life  or  limb,  or  its  health  is  likely  to  be  injured,  or  its  morals 
may  be  depraved. 

An  amendment  of  1901  further  provided  that  all  establishments 
subject  to  factory  inspection  where  girls  and  women  are  employed 
shall  be  provided  with  suitable  seats  for  the  use  of  the  girls  and 
women,  and  that  they  shall  be  permitted  to  use  such  seats  when  not 
necessarily  engaged  in  their  active  duties. 

The  state  factory  inspector,  in  each  of  the  above  acts,  is  charged 
with  the  enforcement  of  its  provisions,  and  an  amendment  of  1901 
imposed  penalties  for  any  obstruction  of  factory  inspectors  in  the 
performance  of  their  duties  under  the  act  of  1897.  With  these  stat- 
utes in  force,  the  legislature  in  1903,  went  into  the  subject  of  child 
labor  again  and  enacted  a  law  much  more  complete  in  its  provisions, 
for  the  most  part  covering  the  same  ground  as  did  the  previous  acts. 
This  act  expressly  repeals  the  defective  child  labor  act  of  1891,  but 
repeals  only  such  parts  of  other  acts  as  are  in  conflict  with  the  en- 
actment of  1903.  The  duties  of  the  department  of  factory  inspection 
thereunder  are  as  follows : 

1.  Duty  to  visit  all  mercantile  institutions,  offices,  laundries,  manu- 
facturing establishments,  bowling  alleys,  theaters,  concert  halls  and 
places  of  amusement,  factories,  or  workshops,  and  all  other  places 
where  minors  are  or  may  be  employed  in  this  State  and  ascertain 
whether  any  minors  are  employed  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  act. 

2.  The  inspectors  may  require  that  age  and  school  certificates,  and 
all  lists  of  minors  employed  in  such  factories,  workshops,  mercantile 
institutions,  and  other  places  where  minors  are  employed,  as  provided 
for  in  this  act,  shall  be  produced  for  their  inspection  on  demand. 

3.  It  is  made  the  special  duty  of  the  State  Factory  Inspector  to  en- 
force the  provisions  of  this  act  and  to  prosecute  all  violations  of  the 
law,  and  it  is  made  his  duty,  and  that  of  his  assistants  and  deputies  to 
visit  and  inspect  at  all  reasonable  times  and  as  often  as  possible  all 
places  covered  by  the  act. 

By  the  last  section  referred  to  it  is  made  the  special  duty  of  the 
inspector  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  act.  In  general  these  pro- 
visions are  as  follows : 

1.  Section  one  provides  tliat  no  child  under  fourteen  (14)  shall  be 
permitted  to  work  at  any  gainful  occupation  in  any  theater,  concert 
hall  or  place  of  amusement  where  intoxicating  liquors  are  sold,  or  in 
any  mercantile  institution,  store,  office,  hotel,  laundry,  manufacturing 
establishment,  bowling  alley,  passenger  or  freight  elevator,  factory  or 
workshop,  or  as  a  messenger  or  driver  therefor  in  this  state. 

2.  That  no  child  under  fourteen  (14)  shall  be  employed  at  any 
work  for  wages  during  any  portion  of  any  month  when  the  public 
schools  are  in  session,  rior  employed  before  7  A.  M.  or  after  6  P.  M. 
and  no  child  shall  be  allowed  to  work  more  than  eight  (8)  hours  in 
any  one  day.     This  last  provision  repeals  the  similar  one  in  the  act  of 


14  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

1897  which  spceifies  that  the  (10)  hours  shall  be  the  maximum  per 
day.  This  provision  with  respect  to  children  under  fourteen  (14)  is 
supplemented  by  Section  10  of  the  act  which  forbids  labor  by  children 
under  sixteen  (16)  more  than  forty-eight  hours  in  one  week  or  eight 
(8)  hours  a  day,  or  before  seven  in  the  morning  or  after  seven  in  the 
evening.  Notices  of  such  hours  are  to  be  furnished  by  the  State  Fac- 
tory Inspector  and  kept  posted  in  every  room  where  minors  are  em- 
ployed. 

3.  Section  two  provides  that  every  person  who  employs  minors 
between  the  ages  of  fourteen  (14)  and  sixteen  (16)  in  the  enumerated 
establishments  in  Section  one  (with  the  exception  that  no  particular 
designation  is  made  of  places  where  intoxicating  liquor  is  sold)  shall 
keep  a  register  in  which  shall  be  recordied  the  name,  age,  and  place  of 
residence  of  every  such  child  employed,  and  shall  require  of  the  child 
the  production  of  an  age  and  school  certificate,  stating  his  age,  grade 
in  school,  that  he  can  read  and  write  legibly  simple  sentences ;  such 
age  and  school  certificates  to  be  placed  on  file  and  to  be  accessible  to 
the  inspector. 

Section  three  provides  that  "wall  lists"  shall  be  kept  posted  in  every 
room  where  minors  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  (14)  and  sixteen 
(16)  are  working,  showing  name,  age,  and  place  of  residence. 

Other  sections  deal  with  the  requirements  of  age  and  school  certi- 
ficates, disposition  of  the  certificate  at  end  of  employment,  and  with 
requirements  as  to  schooling. 

The  applicant  for  an  age  and  school  certificate  must  present  a 
school  attendance  certificate  signed  by  the  teacher,  certifying  to  the 
grade,  literacy  or  illiteracy,  and  age  (upon  the  school  record)  of  the 
child.  Upon  the  presentation  of  this  school  attendance  certificate, 
an  age  and  school  certificate  (entitling  the  child  to  work)  is  ordinarily 
issued  as  a  matter  of  course. 

Age  and  school  certificates  are  to  be  approved  only  by  the  superin- 
tendent of  schools  or  by  a  person  authorized  by  him  in  writing,  or 
where  there  is  no  superintendent,  by  a  person  authorized  by  the  school 
board;  but  superintendents  or  principals  of  parochial  schools  have 
the  same  power  as  superintendents  of  schools.  No  person  has  au- 
thority to  approve  certificates  for  a  child  who  is  to  enter  his  own  em- 
ploy or  the  employ  of  a  concern  with  which  he  is  connected.  Those 
authorized  to  issue  'age  and  school  certificates  are  also  authorized  to 
administer  oaths.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  school  authorities  to  make 
provision  for  the  issuance  of  such  certificates. 

Proof  of  age  for  the  age  and  school  certificate  is  furnished  by  the 
last  school  census,  certificate  of  birth  or  baptism,  register  of  birth 
with  town  or  city  clerk,  or  by  records  of  public  or  parochial  schools. 
The  oath  of  the  parent  is  taken  in  absence  of  above  proof,  the  oath 
to  be  made  before  the  juvenile  or  county  court,  and  the  court  may 
issue  an  age  certificate. 

A  duplicate  of  the  age  and  school  certificate  is  required  to  be  filled 
out  and  sent  to  the  State  Factory  Inspector's  oflRce.  The  employment 
certificate  is  issued  in  the  name  of,  and  belongs  to,  the  child.  The 
certificate  is  produced  to  and  kept  on  file  by  the  employer,  and  is  sur- 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  15 

rendered  to  the  child  when  he  leaves  the  employment.  If  not  claimed 
by  the  child  within  thirty  days  it  is  to  be  returned  to  the  issuing  school 
authority. 

In  case  a  child  cannot  read  and  write  legibly,  the  employer  is  re- 
quired to  keep  a  list  of  such  children  under  sixteen  (16)  who  are  not 
attending  night  school,  for  production,  on  demand  by  the  inspector. 
In  case  of  children  between  fourteen  (14)  and  sixteen  (16)  who  can- 
not read  and  write  simple  sentences,  there  must  be  a  certificate  that  he 
or  she  is  regularly  attending  a  public  or  parochial  evening  school,  and 
the  age  and  school  certificate  continues  in  force  just  so  long  as  the 
regular  attendance  of  such  child  is  certified  weekly  by  the  teacher  or 
principal  of  an  evening  school.  The  age  and  school  certificate  must 
itself  contain  a  statement  of  school  attendance  where  the  child  is 
illiterate,  but  contains  no  provision  which  makes  it  necessary  that  the 
issuing  authority  pass  in  each  case  upon  the  question  of  literacy. 
Perhaps  in  most  cases  the  question  is  not  raised  when  application  is 
made  for  a  certificate.  The  school  certificate  is  prima  facie  evidence 
of  the  literacy  or  illiteracy  of  the  child. 

Where  there  is  no  evening  school  or  when  no  evening  schools  are 
in  session,  no  age  and  school  certificate  may  be  approved  for  a  child 
under  sixteen  (16)  who  cannot  read  at  sight  and  write  legibly  simple 
sentences.  The  child  labor  act,  therefore,  expressly  forbids  the  issu- 
ance of  age  and  school  certificates  to  illiterate  children  under  sixteen 
where  and  when  there  are  no  evening  schools  and  unless  the  children 
are  in  attendance  upon  such  schools,  but  this  prohibition  is  later  quali- 
fied by  a  proviso  that  there  shall  be  no  employment  of  such  children 
between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen  "while  a  public  evening 
school  is  maintained  in  the  town  or  city  in  which  such  minor  resides, 
unless  such  minor  is  a  regular  attendant  at  such  evening  school." 

The  act  (section  11)  forbids  the  employment  of  children  under 
sixteen  (16)  (1)  in  certain  designated  occupations  (those  regarded 
as  hazardous),  and  closes  with  a  general  prohibition  of  their  employ- 
ment in  any  other  place  considered  dangerous  to  their  life  or  limb, 
or  where  their  health  may  be  injured  or  morals  depraved,  thus  leaving 
to  the  state  factory  inspector  some  authority  to  determine,  in  the  first 
instance,  at  any  rate,  what  places  come  within  the  terms  of  the  pro- 
hibition; (2)  of  children  under  sixteen  (16)  in  theaters,  concert  halls, 
or  places  of  amusement,  where  intoxicating  liquors  are  sold,  and  the 
employment  of  females  under  sixteen  (16)  in  any  capacity  where  such 
employment  compels  them  to  remain  standing  constantly. 

The  act  of  1903  provides  that  upon  written  complaint  to  the  school 
board  or  local  school  authorities  that  a  minor  (whose  name  shall  be 
given  in  the  complaint),  is  employed  contrary  to  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  school  authorities  to  report  the  same 
to  the  State  Factory  Inspector. 

The  foregoing  are  the  principal  provisions  of  the  child  labor  law. 
with  the  enforcement  of  which  the  department  of  state  factory  in- 
spection is  charged.  The  act  of  1897  is,  therefore,  practically  dis- 
placed by  the  act  of  1903.  Likewise  the  sections  of  the  act  of  1893, 
dealing  with  child  labor,  are  also  superseded  by  the  last  act,  except 


16  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

the  provision  in  the  act  of  1893  conferring  authority  upon  the  state 
factory  inspector  to  require  a  certificate  of  physical  fitness  from  a 
physician  in  case  of  children  who  may  appear  to  him  physically  un- 
able to  perform  the  labor  at  which  they  may  be  engaged.  The  factory 
inspector's  office,  however,  did  not  even  know  of  this  provision,  and 
has  proceeded  on  the  assumption  that  the  act  of  1903  replaces  all 
previous  legislation. 

Section  28  of  the  coal  mining  act  of  1911  forbids  labor  in  mines 
by  any  boy  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  or  by  any  woman  or  girl 
whatever.  A  certificate  of  age  is  required,  but  there  is  no  provision 
that  this  certificate  shall  be  open  to  inspection  by  the  state  mine  in- 
spectors, to  whom  tlie  enforcement -of  th.e  mining  act  is  com.mitted. 

Of  great  importance  in  connection  with  the  enforcement  of  the 
child  labor  laws  are  the  provisions  of  the  school  law  with  respect 
to  compulsory  education.  These  provisions  may  be  found  in  sections 
274  and  275  of  the  revised  school  act  of  1909.  Every  person  having 
control  of  any  child  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  sixteen  is  required 
to  cause  such  child  to  attend  some  public  or  private  school  for  the  entire 
time  during  which  the  school  attended  is  in  session,  which  shall  not  be 
less  than  six  months  of  actual  teaching;  several  exceptions  are  made, 
of  which  the  most  important  is  that  as  to  children  between  14  and 
16  who  are  necessarily  and  lawfully  employed  during  the  hours  when 
school  is  in  session.  Truant  officers  are  required  to  be  appointed  for 
the  enforcement  of  compulsory  school  attendance. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  public  school  law  makes  an  exception 
in  favor  of  children  "necessarily  and  lawfully  employed."  The  word 
"necessarily"  may  perhaps  be  interpreted  to  excuse  from  school  at- 
tendance only  those  children  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  whose 
earnings  are  necessary  to  the  support  of  themselves  and  their  families. 
Such  an  interpretation  is,  however,  not  at  all  clear,  and  the  issuance 
of  age  and  school  certificates  can  hardly  be  refused  on  this  ground. 
If  it  is  intended  to  confer  a  discretion  as  to  this  matter  upon  those 
administering  the  child  labor  laws,  the  intention  should  be  made  clear 
by  the  language  of  the  statute.  As  a  matter  of  policy  it  would  be 
desirable  to  limit  child  labor  to  cases  of  economic  necessity.  On  the 
other  hand  an  official  discretion  in  this  matter  is  very  likely  not  to  be 
used,  and  if  used,  may  be  employed  arbitrarily.  On  the  whole  it  is 
better  to  raise  the  limitations  for  all  children  rather  than  to  forbid 
labor  of  certain  children  because  of  pecuniary  considerations. 

It  may  be  well  to  mention  in  this  connection,  the  provisions  of  an 
act  of  1877,  now  printed  in  the  Criminal  Code,  sees.  42a  to  42e,  deal- 
ing with  the  subject  of  child  labor.  Section  42a  makes  it  unlawful 
for  any  person  having  the  care,  custody,  or  control  of  any  child  under 
the  age  of  fourteen  (14)  to  exhibit,  use  or  employ  him  in  any  manner 
in  any  exhibition  or  vocation  injurious  to  the  health  or  dangerous  to 
the  life  or  limb  of  such  child.  Section  42b  makes  it  unlawful  for  any 
person  to  employ  or  exhibit  or  have  in  custody  any  child  for  the  pur- 
poses proliibited  in  Section  42a.  Section  42d  makes  it  unlawful  for 
any  person  having  the  care  or  custody  of  any  such  child  wilfully 
to  cause  or  permit  the  lite  of  such  child  to  be  endangered,  or  will- 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


17 


fully  to  cause  or  permit  such  child  to  be  placed  in  such  a  situation 
that  its  life  or  health  may  be  injured.  General  penalties  are  provided 
for  violations  of  the  act.  This  legislation  was  amended  in  1895 
(Criminal  Code,  Sees.  492-497)  so  as  to  forbid  certain  other  specific 
exhibitions  of  children  under  fourteen  (14).  Prohibitions  in  general 
terms  of  practices  injurious  to  health  or  dangerous  to  life  or  limb 
are  also  included  in  the  act  of  1895.  These  acts  are  not  enforcible 
by  the  state  factory  inspector's  office. 

The  reports  of  the  chief  state  factory  inspector  show  that  much 
attention  has  been  given  to  the  enforcement  of  the  child  labor  acts, 
but  the  reports  to  1909  do  not  give  a  clear  notion  of  just  what  has 
been  done,  confining  themselves  mainly  to  elaborate  lists  of  firms 
whose  establishments  were  inspected.  With  the  increased  duties 
placed  upon  the  factory  inspector  to  inspect  under  other  laws,  the 
amount  of  attention  devoted  to  the  child  labor  laws  has  apparently  de- 
creased. For  many  of  the  smaller  communities  the  number  of  in- 
spections reported  under  the  child  labor  law  seems  to  be  much  greater 
than  the  number  of  establishments  in  which  child  labor  may  have  been 
employed.  This  statement  holds  for  statistics  published  in  the  report 
of  the  department  for  December  16,  1910-June  30,  1912,  and  is  further 
borne  out  by  the  statistics  in  the  report  (in  manuscript)  for  1912-13. 
This  suggests  a  possible  doubt  as  to  the  value  of  statements  indicating 
a  large  total  of  inspections. 

In  Chicago  the  issuance  of  age  and  school  certificates  is  handled 
by  the  public  school  authorities  in  co-operation  with  the  factory  in- 
spector, and  two  clerks  from  the  factory  inspector's  office  devote  their 
time  to  work  connected  with  the  issuance  of  such  certificates.  With 
some  of  the  more  important  religious  denominations  in  Chicago,  co- 
operative relations  have  also  been  established  in  the  issuance  of  such 
certificates.  But  outside  of  Chicago  not  a  great  deal  of  attention  seems 
to  have  been  paid  to  relations  with  the  schools. 

Several  defects  in  present  legislation  may  be  pointed  out  :• 

(1)  It  is  easy  for  a  child  to  obtain  an  age  and  school  certificate 
by  transferring  from  a  public  school  to  a  parochial  school,  or  vice 
versa,  and  stating  his  age  as  over  14  to  the  school  to  which  he  trans- 
fers.    It  is  difficult  to  discover  the  deceit  in  such  a  case. 

(2)  Children  between  14  and  16  unable  to  read  and  write  simple 
sentences  must  attend  night  school  while  holding  certificates  enabling 
them  to  work.  This  provision  should  relate  to  all  children  unable  to 
read  and  write  simple  sentences  in  English,  but  even  the  present  pro- 
vision is  largely  unenforced.  It  would  also  be  desirable  to  have  some 
test  in  arithmetic.  Perhaps  a  definite  standard  of  education  may  be 
obtained  by  requiring  completion  of  the  fifth  grade  or  its  equivalent. 
Each  employer  should  be  required  to  keep  on  file  a  separate  list  of  all 
illiterate  children  in  his  employ.  A  system  of  vocational  education  is 
essential  to  supplement  the  child  labor  laws. 

(3)  The  relations  between  the  schools  and  the  factory  inspector 
should  be  much  closer,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  visits  of 
inspectors  are  infrequent  outside  of  Chicago.    Instead  of  being  limited 


18  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

expressly  as  to  the  manner  of  reporting  violations  of  the  child  labor 
law  to  the  factory  inspector,  the  school  authorities  should  be  them- 
selves empowered  and  required  to  prosecute  in  case  of  violations  com- 
ing to  their  attention.  Some  power  of  inspection  should  also  be  vested 
in  the  school  authorities. 

(4)  The  factory  inspection  department  has  suggested  that  all 
school  certificates  should  be  issued  through  its  office  and  that  certi- 
ficates when  surrendered  should  be  returned  thereto.  For  Chicago 
this  may  be  desirable,  but  if  duplicates  of  the  age  and  school  certi- 
ficates for  the  entire  state  were  sent  to  the  Factory  Inspector's  office 
(as  is  now  required  by  law)  the  time  required  to  handle  them  would 
probably  be  too  great,  although,  if  the  state  were  divided  into  several 
large  inspection  districts,  it  might  be  feasable  to  handle  these  duplicates 
at  the  offices  of  such  inspection  districts.  But  the  factory  inspection 
department  has  not  now,  and  is  not  likely  to  have  in  the  near  future, 
a  sufficient  number  of  inspectors  to  issue  age  and  school  certificates 
throughout  the  whole  state.  In  each  city  or  community  a  record  of 
age  and  school  certificates  issued  should,  however,  be  kept  in  some 
one  place,  and  to  this  place  should  be  sent  a  report  of  all  certificates, 
whether  issued  by  public  or  parochial  schools.  Uniform  records  of 
these  matters  should  also  be  required  of  all  schools. 

It  should  also  be  possible  for  both  the  school  and  factory  inspection 
authorities  to  know  just  where  each  child  is  employed.  This  may  be 
accomplished  by  requiring  certificates  to  be  issued  for  work  with  a 
particular  employer.  When  the  child  leaves  employment,  the  employer 
may  be  required  to  return  the  certificate  to  the  issuing  authority.  The 
child  in  taking  a  new  position  could  then  be  required  to  obtain  a  new 
certificate,  which  might  be  issued  as  a  matter  of  course,  on  the  basis 
of  records  already  on  file  in  the  issuing  office. 

An  effective  enforcement  of  a  child  labor  law  also  makes  it  neces- 
sary that  a  record  be  kept  of  all  cases  in  which  age  and  school  certi- 
ficates were  refused. 

(5)  A  desirable  change  in  the  law,  recommended  by  the  factory 
inspector's  office,  is  that  the  age  limit  for  work  by  girls  be  in  all  cases 
raised  to  sixteen  years. 

(6)  The  statutory  provision  regarding  physical  fitness  of  children 
should  be  enforced,  and  should  be  supplemented  by  legislation  requir- 
ing a  medical  certificate  of  physical  fitness  in  every  case  as  a  condi- 
tion precedent  to  a  child's  employment.  For  legislation  of  this  char- 
acter see  Second  Report  New  York  Factory  Investigation  Commission 
(1913)  Vol.  I,  pp.  359-361.  Requirements  regarding  physical  fitness 
should  be  enforced  by  medical  inspections  of  the  department  of  fac- 
tory inspection,  either  upon  complaint  or  upon  the  initiative  of  the 
department.  It  will  be  necessary  to  have  the  school  authorities  pro- 
vide for  a  physical  examination  of  children  at  the  time  when  age  and 
school  certificates  are  issued. 

(7)  It  has  been  urged  that  the  law  should  be  so  amended  that 
the  affidavit  of  parents  and  the  school  record  should  not  be  accepted 
as  proof  of  age,  in  the  absence  of  more  satisfactory  evidence.  This 
can  hardly   be   done,   especially   in   view   of   the   absence   of   official 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  19 

records  of  birth,  etc.,  in  this  country.  If  the  law  is  altogether  to  forbid 
labor  by  children  between  fourteen  and  sixteen  in  a  large  number  of 
cases  it  should  do  so  directly,  not  indirectly.  It  is,  of  course,  desirable, 
and  in  time  it  may  be  possible  to  forbid  labor  before  the  age  of  six- 
teen. To  refuse  to  accept  oaths  of  parents  and  school  records  in  the 
absence  of  other  records,  would  forbid  labor  between  fourteen  and 
sixteen  for  large  elements  in  the  state.  Statements  of  parents  and 
school  records  should  not  be  accepted  without  verification.  Children 
under  fourteen  can  to  a  great  extent  be  prevented  from  working  (even 
with  the  present  methods  of  proof  of  age)  if  a  physical  examination 
is  in  each  case  required  for  a  certificate,  with  the  enforcement  of  a 
standard  in  such  examination  such  as  can  only  be  met  by  a  normal 
child  of  fourteen.  This  test  might  well  be  supplemented  by  a  stricter 
educational  test. 

(8)  The  Illinois  Act  of  1903  (sec.  1)  forbids  employment  of 
children  under  fourteen  at  gainful  occupations  in  certain  enumerated 
establishments.  The  enumeration  seems  rather  complete  but  may  not 
include  everything.  The  act  continues  by  prohibiting  employment  of 
children  under  fourteen  for  wages  or  other  compensation  during  any 
portion  of  any  month  when  the  public  schools  are  in  session,  and  by 
regulating  the  hours  of  labor  of  children  under  fourteen.  The  act 
itself,  therefore,  expressly  recognizes  the  legality  of  some  gainful 
labor  by  children  under  fourteen  when  the  public  schools  are  not  in 
session.  Yet  the  law  does  not  require  age  and  school  certificates,  reg- 
isters, etc.,  for  children  under  fourteen  employed  during  vacation. 
This  may  make  some  difficulty  in  the  enforcement  of  the  child  labor 
act  when  the  schools  are  not  in  session. 

Biitterine  and  ice  cream  inspection  act.  The  object  of  the  butterine 
and  ice  cream  inspection  law  enacted  in  1907  is  to  make  it  compulsory 
upon  all  manufacturers  of  butterine  and  ice  cream  to  maintain  their 
establishments  in  a  thoroughly  healthful  and  sanitary  condition.  To 
this  end  the  act  lays  down  specific  regulations  as  to  drainage,  plumb- 
ing, ventilation,  foundations  and  construction.  Penalties  are  provided 
in  the  act  for  any  violation  of  its  provisions  and  it  is  expressly  made 
the  duty  of  state  factory  inspectors  to  cause  an  inspection  of  all  such 
manufacturies ;  to  order  alterations  to  be  made,  and  to  order  a  general 
compliance  with  the  specific  rules  of  the  act,  that  the  building  may 
be  put  in  a  condition  conducive  to  proper  and  healthful  sanitation. 
The  factory  inspector  may  require  the  whitewashing  of  walls  at  regu- 
lar intervals,  and  may  also  require  that  the  woodwork  be  painted. 
It  is  made  the  duty  of  the  factory  inspector  to  issue  a  certificate  to 
such  manufacturies  as  are  found  to  have  complied  with  all  the  pro- 
visions of  the  act. 

The  report  of  the  factory  inspection  department  for  1911-12  in- 
dicated 46  inspections  under  this  law,  none  of  which  were  in  Chicago. 
There  were  no  inspections  in  Springfield,  Aurora,  Champaign  and 
numerous  other  cities.  Such  inspections  as  were  made  were  probably 
incidental  and  more  or  less  haphazard.  The  function  here  undertaken 
is  largely  one  belonging  to  local  boards  of  health.  The  powers  con- 
ferred by  this  act  should  be  transferred  as  soon  as  possible  to  the 


20  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

state  food  commissioner,  who  now  has  authority  to  inspect  and  actually 
inspects  establishments  of  the  same  character.  The  factor}^  inspection 
office  has  enough  to  do  within  its  own  proper  field,  and  at  present 
there  is  a  duplication  of  function.  The  chief  state  factory  inspector 
agrees  that  the  duties  under  this  law  should  be  transferred. 

Act  for  the  protection  of  employees  engaged  in  structural  work. 

This  act,  passed  in  1907,  provides  in  general  for  the  protection  and 
safety  of  persons  engaged  in  the  construction,  alteration,  repairing,  or 
removal  of  buildings,  bridges,  viaducts  and  other  structures.  As  in 
the  case  with  other  acts  the  enforcement  of  which  is  committed  to 
the  department  of  factory  inspection,  the  act  lays  down  specific  re- 
quirements in  detail  and  directly  imposes  the  primary  obligation  upon 
the  manufacturer  or  other  person  covered  by  the  act.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  state  factory  inspector  to  make  inspections  and  to  say  whether 
or  not  the  specific  requirements  of  the  act  have  been  complied  with. 
The  act  for  protection  in  structural  work  contains  provisions  relating 
to  the  construction  of  scafifolds,  hoists,  cranes,  safety  rails,  etc. ;  how 
joists  are  to  be  supported,  the  weight  to  be  borne,  floors  to  be  con- 
structed and  machines  elevated,  etc. 

It  is  the  duty  of  all  contractors  and  owners  when  constructing  build- 
ings or  bridges  to  know  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  to  comply 
therewith.  From  the  wording  of  this  statute,  it  is  not  made  the  ex- 
press duty  of  the  state  factory  inspector  to  make  inspections  of  all 
buildings,  bridges,  etc.,  but  the  act  provides  that  whenever  it  shall  come 
to  the  notice  of  the  state  factory  inspector  that  any  buildings,  etc., 
in  process  of  construction,  are  unsafe  or  liable  to  prove  dangerous  to 
the  life  or  limb  of  any  person,  it  shall  become  his  duty  immediately 
to  cause  an  inspection  to  be  made.  If,  after  examination,  it  is  found 
that  the  provisions  of  the  act  have  not  been  complied  with,  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  inspector  to  notify  the  person  responsible  and  to  require 
him  to  alter  or  reconstruct  such  parts  of  the  building  as  may  be 
necessary  to  avoid  danger.  If  a  building  under  construction  is  more 
than  five  stories  high,  no  material  used  is  to  be  hoisted  over  the  street 
unless  the  street  is  barricaded. 

The  chief  officer  of  the  city,  town  or  village  and  the  state  factory 
inspector  are  charged  with  the  enforcement  of  the  act.  In  all  cities 
of  the  state  where  a  local  building  commissioner  is  provided  for  by 
law,  he  is  charged  with  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
"and  in  case  of  his  failure,  neglect  or  refusal  so  to  do,  the  state  factory 
inpector  shall,  pursuant  to  the  terms  of  this  act,  enforce  the  provisions 
thereof."  The  reports  of  the  state  factory  inspector  dealing  with  this 
act  do  not  show  that  the  local  authorities  thus  designated  have  actually 
participated  in  the  enforcement  of  the  act.  If  they  have,  and  their 
reports  have  been  sent  to  the  state  inspector,  no  tables  are  shown 
which  would  separate  the  work  done  by  them  and  the  work  done  by 
the  state  department.  Nor  is  any  statement  made  in  the  reports  tend- 
ing to  show  any  relation  between  the  factory  inspection  department 
and  local  authorities  in  the  enforcement  of  this  act.  At  present  there 
are  no  relations  in  the  enforcement  of  this  act  between  the  factory- 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  21 

inspector's  office  and  the  local  authorities.  Any  person  injured  has  a 
right  of  action  for  damages  occasioned  by  a  wilful  failure  or  refusal 
to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Tables  of  the  factory  inspector's  report  for  1909  show  the  number 
of  inspections  made,  the  location  of  each  structure,  the  name  of  the 
owner  and  contracting  architect,  and  the  nature  of  the  work  going  on. 
One  table  shows  the  kind  of  materials  used  in  each  building  inspected, 
the  orders  issued,  and  states  whether  or  not  violations  were  found. 
In  still  another  table  the  names  of  the  same  structures  are  again  re- 
peated, with  the  following  data:  Size  of  the  building  or  bridge,  num- 
not  the  condition  of  the  structure  was  approved  by  the  inspector,  and 
remarks.  Under  the  head  of  remarks  the  table  shows  whether  or 
not  the  condition  of  the  structure  was  approved  by  the  inspector,  and 
if  not  the  table  shows  the  specific  defects  in  the  manner  of  construc- 
tion noted  by  the  inspector,  and  the  time  when  he  made  the  inspection. 
The  number  of  prosecutions  and  violations  are  also  shown.  It  may 
be  noted  that  practically  all  of  the  reports  dealing  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  this  measure  had  to  do  with  inspections  made  in  Chicago 
and  Cook  County.  In  the  report  of  1909,  only  three  inspections  are 
noted  as  having  been  made  outside  of  the  city  of  Chicago ;  one  at 
Chicago  Heights,  one  in  Argo  and  one  at  Milwaukee  and  Addison 
Avenues.  The  report  covering  the  period  from  December  16,  1910 
to  June  30,  1912  shows  twelve  inspections  outside  of  Cook  County, 
of  which  one  was  at  Springfield  and  two  at  Decatur;  the  other  nine 
inspections  noted  as  outside  of  Cook  County  were  not  so.  The  report 
of  1912-1913  (in  manuscript)  shows  that  no  inspections  under  this 
law  were  made  outside  of  Chicago.  As  administered  this  law  is  very 
little  more  than  a  supplement  to  the  building  ordinances  of  Chicago, 
and  would  lead  in  that  city  to  duplicate  inspections  for  practically  the 
♦  same  purposes.  The  law  should  be  more  generally  enforced  or  the 
duties  under  it  transferred  from  the  department  of  factory  inspec- 
tion. 

Health,  Safety  and  Comfort  of  Employees.  This  act,  adopted  in 
1909,  but  in  effect  Jan.  1,  1910,  provides  in  general  for  the  healih, 
safety  and  comfort  of  employes  in  all  factories,  mercantile  establish- 
ments, mills  and  workshops  in  this  state.  It  goes  into  great  detail  in 
providing  for  the  maintenance  of  safe  conditions  in  these  establish- 
ments. Provisions  are  found  on  the  following  subjects:  All  power 
driven  machinery  and  numerous  other  dangerous  appliances,  to  be 
located  so  as  not  to  be  dangerous  to  employes,  and  to  be  properly 
enclosed,  fenced  or  otherwise  protected ;  all  dangerous  places  in  or 
about  mercantile  establishments,  factories,  mills  or  workshops  to  be 
properly  enclosed,  fenced  or  otherwise  guarded ;  no  machine  may  be 
used  where  it  is  known  to  be  dangerously  defective  and  no  repairs 
are  to  be  made  when  the  machine  is  in  motion.  The  act  provides 
when  safeguards  may  be  removed ;  that  certain  means  be  provided 
for  disconnecting  power;  for  disengaging  devices;  power  controlling 
devices ;  devices  where  machines  are  arranged  in  groups ;  additional 
safeguards  and  safety  devices  on  hoisting  ways;  and  has  provisions 
dealing  with  tampering  with  machines,  and  with  traversing  carriages. 


22  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

To  secure  proper  healthful  conditions  in  such  places  the  act  pro- 
vides that  employes  are  not  to  take  food  into  certain  factories*  (This 
matter  is  now  more  fully  covered  by  section  7  of  the  occupational 
diseases  act  of  1911.)  Seats  for  female  employees  must  be  provided 
to  be  used  when  such  employes  are  not  necessarily  engaged  in  their 
active  duties.  There  are  provisions  requiring  the  temperature  to  be 
equable ;  provisions  relating  to  ventilation  and  the  amount  of  air 
space  necessary,  provisions  requiring  that  noxious  fumes  and  gases 
be  removed  (now  more  fully  covered  by  section  8  of  occupational 
diseases  act),  that  all  refuse  be  properly  disposed  of,  that  adequate 
means  of  escape  in  case  of  fire  be  made,  provisions  dealing  with  the 
proper  construction  of  doors,  stairways,  floors,  passageways,  water 
closets,  washing  facilities,  dressing  rooms  and  lights.  It  is  specifically 
provided  that  the  requirements  of  this  act  shall  not  repeal  the  act  of 
1897  relating  to  plumbing  or  any  local  ordinances  requiring  standards 
equal  or  superior  to  those  of  this  act. 

It  is  the  duty  in  the  first  instance  of  every  person  or  corporation 
to  which  the  act  applies  to  carry  out  all  its  provisions,  and  to  make 
all  the  changes  and  additions  necessary  therefor.  To  insure  the  en- 
forcement of  the  act  it  is  expressly  made  the  duty  of  the  state  factory 
inspection  department  to  enforce  all  its  provisions  and  to  prosecute 
all  violations  of  the  same.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  state  factory  inspector 
or  his  assistants  to  visit  and  inspect  at  all  reasonable  times  all  factories, 
mercantile  establishments,  mills  and  workshops  to  which  the  act  applies. 
Obstructing  an  inspector  is  punishable  by  fine.  It  is  also  the  duty  of 
inspectors  to  give  proper  notice  to  the  person  owning  or  managing 
such  establishment  of  any  violation  of  the  act.  Power  is  conferred 
upon  the  department  to  order  unsafe  conditions  in  factories  to  be 
remedied ;  and  when  such  order  is  not  carried  out,  it  is  then  the  duty 
of  the  state  factory  inspector  to  prosecute.  When  changes  comply- 
ing with  the  laws  have  been  made  the  same  shall  not  be  disturbed  for 
twelve  months  as  to  location  of  machines  or  as  to  ventilation. 

With  the  idea  of  providing  for  the  dissemination  of  general  knowl- 
edge of  this  act,  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  chief  inspector  to  keep  on 
hand  copies  of  its  provisions  and  to  supply  requests  for  the  same  inso- 
far as  it  is  necessary  to  carry  out  this  purpose.  In  order  that  the 
workmen  may  be  informed  of  the  provisions  of  the  act,  it  is  also 
made  the  duty  of  the  state  factory  inspector  to  prepare  a  notice  cover- 
ing the  salient  features  thereof  and  to  have  the  same  posted  in  a 
conspicuous  place  in  every  office  and  work  room  of  every  establish- 
ment covered  by  its  provisions.  While  charged  primarily  with  the 
enforcement  of  the  act,  the  state  factory  inspector  is  under  certain 
conditions  authorized  to  accept  a  report  of  inspections  conducted  by 
city  authorities  who  act  under  city  ordinances,  in  lieu  of  inspections 
required  by  this  act.  To  this  extent  is  the  department  of  state  factory 
inspection  related  to  the  local  authorities.  No  close  relations  have 
been  established  between  the  factory  inspection  department  and  local 
authorities  and  no  reports  of  inspections  have  been  made  by  the  local 
authorities. 

Hours  of  Labor  of  Women.  An  act  of  1893  limiting  the  hours  of 
labor  of  females  in  any  factory  or  workshop  to  eight  hours  a  day  was 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


23 


declared  unconstitutional  in  Ritchie  v.  People,  155  111.,  98.  The  statute 
enacted  in  1909  forbade  the  employment  of  females  more  than  ten 
hours  per  day  in  mechanical  establishments,  factories  or  laundries,  but 
as  amended  in  1911  it  applies  to  the  following  establishments:  Me- 
chanical or  mercantile  establishments,  factories,  laundries,  hotels, 
restaurants,  telegraph  and  telephone  offices,  places  of  amusement,  ex- 
press, transportation  or  public  utility  companies,  common  carriers, 
public  institutions,  incorporated  or  unincorporated. 

The  act,  as  amended  in  1911,  also  provides  that  all  employers  shall 
keep  a  time  book  showing  for  each  day  the  hours  during  which  each 
and  every  female  is  employed.  The  department  of  factory  inspection 
is  expressly  charged  with  the  enforcement  of  the  act.  The  state  fac- 
tory inspector  is  not  expressly  charged  with  the  duty  of  making  in- 
spections, but  practically  all  of  the  establishments  covered  by  this  act 
are  included  in  other  acts  by  authority  of  which  the  factory  inspector 
is  required  to  make  inspections.  However,  the  absence  of  express 
authority  to  inspect  and  of  penalties  for  obstructing  inspection  has 
made  some  trouble.  The  chief  factory  inspector  also  calls  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  only  penalty  imposed  for  the  violation  of  the  act 
is  that  of  a  fine,  without  an  alternative  of  imprisonment.  It  would 
also  be  desirable  to  make  clearer  the  criminal  liability  for  a  false 
time  record,  and  to  provide  a  penalty  for  such  falsification  equal  to 
that  imposed  for  violating  the  provision  with  respect  to  hours  of 
labor. 

Protection  from  Occupational  Diseases.  The  broad  requirement  of 
this  act,  adopted  in  1911,  is  to  compel  all  employers  of  labor  to  adopt 
and  provide  reasonable  and  approved  devices,  means  and  methods  for 
the  prevention  of  industrial  diseases.  In  addition  to  this  general  re- 
quirement, the  act  designates  certain  processes  which  are  deemed 
essentially  dc^ngerous.  With  reference  to  these  specifically  designated 
industries  the  act  goes  farther  and  lays  down  certain  prohibitions  and 
more  detailed  requirements.  For  example,  it  is  provided  that  clothing 
shall  be  provided  for  employees  while  at  work,  that  suitable  provision 
shall  be  made  for  employes  to  take  their  meals,  for  dressing  rooms 
and  lavatories,  for  certain  devices  necessary  for  carrying  off  poisonous 
fumes,  for  cleaning  of  flues  and  scrubbing  of  floors.  All  receptacles 
are  to  be  covered,  refuse  removed,  etc.  Such  is  the  nature  of  the 
substantive  provisions  of  the  act. 

The  act  is  directed  to  the  individual  employers  themselves.  They 
are  required,  under  penalty,  to  conform  to  the  specific  rules  laid  down 
in  the  statute.  To  secure  the  enforcement,  of  the  act,  however,  it 
is  provided,  with  reference  to  those  industries  expressly  designated, 
that  every  such  employer  therein,  shall  himself  cause  all  employees  in 
his  establishment  who  come  in  contact  with  poisonous  agencies  or 
injurious  processes  to  be  examined  by  a  competent  physician  once  each 
month  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  any  employe  is  afflicted 
with  any  industrial  disease  due  to  the  character  of  the  work  in  which 
he  may  be  engaged.  After  such  examination  the  physician  is  required 
to  make  a  report  of  each  exami-nation  made,  in  which  he  must  show 
the  name,  address,  sex  and  age  of  each  employee,  the  name  of  his  em- 
ployer, the  nature  of  the  disease  found,  if  any,  the  probable  extent 


lA  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

and  duration  thereof  and  the  last  place  of  employment.  This  report 
is  then  to  be  sent  to  the  state  board  of  health,  and  the  board  of  health 
is  required  to  transmit  a  copy  to  the  department  of  factory  inspec- 
tion. 

The  act  imposes  upon  the  department  of  factory  inspection  the  duty 
of  inspecting  all  places  covered  by  its  provisions.  It  is  the  duty  of  the 
state  factory  inspector  to  determine  whether  there  is  any  violation, 
and  if  so,  then  to  order  the  employer  to  install  any  approved  device, 
means  or  method  w^hich  in  his  judgment  is  reasonably  necessary  to 
protect  the  health  of  the  employees  therein.  Furthermore,  and  more 
generally,  if  the  factory  inspector  finds  any  industrial  disease  or  if 
such  disease  is  called  to  his  attention  by  the  state  board  of  health  then 
if,  in  the  opinion  of  the  inspector,  such  disease  is  caused  by  a  failure 
on  the  part  of  the  employer  to  adopt  reasonable  appliances,  means  and 
methods  which  are  known  to  be  reasonably  adequate  and  sufficient  to 
prevent  the  contraction  or  continuance  of  any  such  disease  or  illness, 
it  is  his  duty  to  order  the  employer  to  install  adequate  and  approved 
appliances,  means  and  methods. 

The  information  regarding  unhealthful  conditions  is  therefore  de- 
rived through  two  separate  channels:  (1)  from  the  copies  of  physi- 
cians' reports  made  to  the  state  board  of  health  and  furnished  by  this 
body  to  the  department  of  factory  inspection;  (2)  from  personal 
inspection  of  the  factory  inspector.  It  rests  with  the  factory  inspector 
to  determine,  in  each  case,  whether  or  not  the  existence  of  the  disease 
is  due  to  failure  on  the  part  of  the  employer  to  provide  appliances, 
means  and  methods  which  are  supposed  to  prevent  such  disease.  It 
is  then  his  duty  to  order  the  changes  which  in  his  judgment  are  reason- 
ably necessary  to  protect  the  health  of  employees. 

Additional  requirements  are  made  of  the  factory  inspector  such  as 
the  duty  of  preparing  notices  of  the  salient  feature*,  of  the  act  and 
of  furnishing  such  to  employers,  and  the  duty  to  see  that  such  notices 
are  kept  posted  by  employers.  The  act  penalizes  obstruction  of  in- 
spectors and  also  provides  for  prosecution  of  violations  by  the  state 
department  of  factory  inspection.  There  is  provision  also  for  a  right 
of  action  by  the  employee  for  injury  or  death  in  case  of  "wilful  viola- 
tion of  the  act"  or  "wilful  failure  to  comply  with  any  of  its  provisions." 

The  acting  secretary  of  the  state  board  of  health  and  the  chief  state 
factory  inspector  both  agree  that  no  advantage  is  derived  from  having 
reports  under  the  occupational  diseases  act  go  first  to  the  board  of 
health.  This  arrangement  occasions  delay  and  should  be  changed  so 
that  physicians'  reports  may  go  directly  to  the  factory  inspector's  of^ce. 

The  state  factory  inspector's  office  is  of  the  opinion  that  no  penalty 
is  provided  by  the  occupational  diseases  act  for  false  reports  by  phy- 
sicians, but  this  is  apparently  not  the  case.  The  difficulty  is  that  a 
physician  is  required  to  report  disease  if  found  and  a  penalty  for  false 
reporting,  no  matter  how  specific,  could  not  effectively  require  con- 
scientious reporting.  The  difficulty  discovered  in  the  enforcement  of 
the  act  is  that  of  perfunctory  reporting.  Physicians  under  contract 
make  examinations  of  workmen  which  are  of  too  casual  a  nature  to 
disclose  the  presence  of  an  occupational  disease,  and  report  that  no 
such  disease  was  found.    There  may  have  been  no  false  reporting,  the 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  25 

9 

specific  terms  of  the  act  have  probably  been  complied  with,  yet  the 
purpose  of  the  act  is  defeated.  Something  may  be  accomplished  by 
inspections  and  examinations,  upon  complaint  or  otherwise,  by  the 
medical  officers  of  the  factory  inspection  department. 

Other  Acts  enforcible  by  the  Factory  Inspector's  Office.  The  wash 
room  act  of  1913  (Laws,  1913,  p.  359)  is  committed  for  enforcement 
to  mine  inspectors,  factory  inspectors  and  other  inspectors. 

The  factory  inspector's  duties  are  purely  statutory,  and  he,  there- 
fore has  no  authority  to  enforce  legislation  not  expressly  committed  to 
his  office.^  The  duty  of  enforcing  certain  legislation  is  not  committed 
to  the  department  of  factory  inspection,  e.  g.,  the  act  of  1913  regard- 
ing semi-monthly  payments  of  wages  by  corporations  (Laws,  1913, 
p.  358)  ;  the  act  of  1913  for  the  protection  of  chauffeurs  of  automo- 
biles or  auto-trucks  (Laws,  1913,  p.  334)  ;  the  act  of  1913  regarding 
mason's  examining  boards  in  cities  of  over  15,000  (Laws,  1913,  p. 
356)  ;  the  child  labor  provisions  of  the  criminal  code;  the  specific  pro- 
visions in  the  mining  law  regarding  labor  by  women  and  children. 
The  provisions  of  the  mining  act  are  enforcible  by  mine  inspectors, 
but  the  other  laws  here  enumerated  are  enforcible  only  by  criminal 
penalties. 

Relation  of  Department  of  Factory  Inspection  to  other  State  Offices. 
The  department  of  factory  inspection  is  directly  responsible  only  to 
the  chief  executive.  The  chief  inspector,  his  assistant  and  deputies 
are  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  annual  report  of  the  chief  in- 
pector  is  made  to  the  Governor.  The  Governor  may  require 
special  investigations  into  the  conditions  of  labor  in  the  state 
to  be  made  by  the  department.  The  chief  inspector's  duties  are  ex- 
pressly provided  for  and  it  is  his  duty  to  see  to  it  that  all  the  pro- 
visions of  the  acts  discussed  above  have  been  complied  with.  If  the 
provisions  of  these  acts  are  not  observed,  then  the  resultant  duty  is 
imposed  upon  him  of  prosecuting  all  violations  and  issuing  all  orders 
necessary  to  compel  an  observance  of  the  law.  But  in  the  performance 
of  all  these  duties  he  owes  no  duty  to  the  other  state  departments. 

There  is  some  connection,  however,  between  the  department  of 
factory  inspection  and  the  state  board  of  health,  in  the  enforcement 
of  the  act  dealing  with  occupational  diseases.  Primarily  the  enforce- 
ment of  this  act  is  committed  to  the  state  factory  inspector. ..  Inspec- 
tions must  be  made  by  him,  the  necessary  orders  issued,  and  violations 
prosecuted.  But  monthly  medical  examinations  are  required  as  to  em- 
ployees in  certain  enumerated  industries,  and  the  reports  of  such  ex- 
aminations are  first  transmitted  to  the  state  board  of  health.  The 
act  then  provides  that  a  copy  of  such  report  is  to  be  sent  to  the  de- 
partment of  factory  inspection.  Section  twelve  makes  it  the  duty  of 
the  state  factory  inspector,  when  notified  of  the  existence  of  any  in- 
dustrial disease  by  the  state  board  of  health,  to  order  a  compliance 
with  this  act.  With  this  exception,  the  functions  of  this  department 
are  performed  independently  of  other  authorities  having  to  do  with 
the  enforcement  of  labor  legislation. 


(1)    Report  of  Attorney  General,  1912,  p.  1087. 


26  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

Relation  of  the  Department  of  Factory  Inspection  to  Local  Authorities. 
For  the  most  part  also  the  department  of  factory  inspection  con- 
ducts its  work  independently  of,  and  without  reliance  upon  assist- 
ance from  local  authorities.  Its  functions  fall  naturally  under  three 
general  heads,  (l)that  of  making  inspections,  (2)  issuing  orders  to 
compel  the  observance  of  the  requirements  specifically  set  out  in  the 
separate  statutes,  and  (3)  prosecutions  for  violation.  Upon  the  thirty 
deputy  inspectors,  in  the  first  instance,  falls  the  duty  of  performing 
these  three  functions,  under  the  guidance  and  supervision,  of  course,  of 
the  chief  state  factory  inspector  and  his  assistant.  In  several  cases, 
however,  powers  with  respect  to  labor  legislation  are  exercised  by  local 
authorities.  Under  the  child  labor  law  the  superintendents  of  schools, 
and  in  the  absence  of  a  superintendent,  then  the  school  board,  are  re- 
quired to  approve  age  and  school  certificates  of  children  between  the 
ages  of  14  and  16.  Under  the  act  to  regulate  the  manufacture  of  cloth- 
ing the  powers  granted  to  the  state  factory  inspector  are  also  granted  to 
city  boards  of  health.  In  the  enforcement  of  the  act  they  exercise 
concurrent  power,  with  the  single  exception  that  city  boards  of  health 
are  authorized,  in  certain  instances,  summarily  to  destroy  clothing 
found  by  them  to  be  irifected  with  contagious  diseases. 

In  like  manner,  under  the  act  requiring  the  use  of  blowers  on  metal 
polishing  wheels,  all  sheriffs,  constables  and  states'  attorneys  may  ex- 
ercise the  same  power  as  does  the  state  factory  inspector.  Under  the 
act  providing  for  the  protection  of  employees  engaged  in  structural 
work  local  authorities  in  cities,  towns  and  villages,  charged  with  the  en- 
forcement of  the  building  laws,  are  granted  the  same  power  as  is  con- 
ferred upon  the  state  factory  inspector.  In  the  last  two  cases,  very 
little  direct  relation  between  the  two  authorities  exists. 

Under  the  act  providing  for  the  health,  safety  and  comfort  of  em- 
ployees, the  relation  under  the  law  between  the  department  and  local 
authorities  is  more  direct.    The  provision  is  as  follows : 

Whenever    any    inspection is    required    to    be    made    by    the 

ordinances  of  any  city,  town  or  village  of  a  standard  equal  to  that  of  this 
act  and  the  inspection  required  by  such  ordinances  has  been  made,  then 
and  in  every  such  case  such  inspection  shall  be  accepted  by  the  chief  state 

factor}'  inspector as  a  compliance  in  that  respect  with  the  provisions 

of  this  act;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  person  for  whom  such  inspec- 
tion has  been  made  to  furnish  the  chief  state  factor>'  inspector with 

a  copy  of  the  report  of  the  inspection  made  under  such  ordinances. 
The  efifcct  of  this  provision  seems  to  be,  therefore,  to  relieve  the 
state  factory  inspector  from  his  obligation  to  make  inspections  of 
establishments  which  have  already  been  inspected  by  local  authorities. 
Nothing  is  said  as  to  the  general  character  or  nature  of  the  report 
which  is  to  be  sent  to  the  factory  inspection  department,  nor  as  to  who 
shall  determine  whether  or  not  the  inspection  conducted  by  the  local 
authority  is  equal  to  that  required  by  the  statute.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
this  provision  for  the  accep^^'^nce  of  local  inspections  is  entirely  dis- 
regarded in  practice,  although  with  respect  to  workshops  there  has 
in  the  past  been  some  acceptance  of  sanitary  inspections  made  by  the 
Chicago  department  of  health. 

Much  more  effective  service  might  be  rendered  and  some  duplica- 
tion of  work  avoided  by  a  close  co-operation  of  the  factory  inspection 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


27 


department  with  the  city  governments  in  the  larger  cities.  This  is 
especially  true  with  reference  to  Chicago.  Under  the  bureau  of  sani- 
tation of  the  Chicago  department  of  health  there  is  an  inspection  of 
workshops  which  duplicates  to  a  large  extent  that  required  of  the  state 
department  of  factory  inspection  under  the  garment  workers'  act 
(1893)  and  the  health,  safety  and  comfort  act  (1909).  Under  the 
Chicago  department  of  buildings  there  is  an  inspection  which  dupli- 
cates that  required  by  the  structural  workers'  act  (1907).  Under  the 
fire  prevention  bureau  of  the  Chicago  fire  department  there  is  an  in- 
spection of  buildings  which  in  part  duplicates  that  required  for  the 
enforcement  of  the  health,  safety  and  comfort  act  (Sees.  14,  15). 
The  enforcement  of  the  fire  escape  act  of  1899  is  expressly  vested  in 
local  authorities.  It  may  be  of  value  to  provide,  as  is  done  in  New 
York,  that  municipal  ordinances  in  the  field  of  labor  may  also  be 
enforced  by  the  state  labor  department.  The  further  step  may  also 
well  be  taken  of  permitting  local  authorities,  under  authorization  from 
the  state  labor  department,  to  exercise  the  powers  of  state  inspectors. 
General  survey  of  organisation  and  work. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that,  under  the  law,  the  factory 
inspector  is  required  to  divide  the  state  into  inspection  districts,  and 
to  assign  inspectors  to  such  districts.  According  to  the  present  chief 
factory  inspector  there  never  has  been  any  such  districting,  although 
for  Chicago  there  is  an  informal  districting  by  wards  in  the  absence  of 
special  assignments  to  inspectors.  Ordinarily  no  inspector  is  assigned 
to  inspect  territory  in  his  own  senatorial  district. 

The  State  factory  inpector  says  that  on  an  average,  ten  inspectors 
are  at  work  in  the  territory  outside  of  the  metropolitan  district  of 
Chicago,  although  in  February,  1914,  there  were  only  seven.  During 
about  four  months  of  each  year,  when  the  large  Chicago  establish- 
ments are  being  inspected,  all  inspectors  are  called  to  the  Chicago 
office. 

The  inspection  force  is  organized  on  the  line  of  specialized  function 
rather  than  by  geographical  divisions.  There  are  inspectors  who  have 
specialized  on  machinery,  child  labor,  structural  work,  ventilation,  etc. 
Three  types  of  inspection  work  are  committed  to  the  department,  (1) 
one  highly  technical,  requiring  a  good  knowledge  of  machinery,  (2) 
another  requiring  medical  or  chemical  knowledge,  and  (3)  a  third 
requiring  not  so  much  technical  knowledge  as  general  ability,  to  this 
class  belonging  inspection  under  the  child  labor  and  women's 
labor  acts.  Some  degree  of  specialization  of  function  is  necessary 
therefore,  in  order  to  accomplish  the  best  results,  but  all  types  of  in- 
spection are  perhaps  in  most  cases  made  by  the  same  inspector,  es- 
pecially for  the  smaller  establishments. 

The  reports  of  the  factory  inspection  department  have  occasionally 
printed  a  specimen  of  a  report  of  an  inspection.  Such  specimens,  cov- 
ering in  detail  every  point  which  may  possibly  give  rise  to  danger 
or  violation  of  the  law,  aVe  misleading.  With  the  present  force  of 
inspectors  it  is  out  of  the  question  to  inspect  frequently  all  of  the  es- 
tablishments of  the  State,  and  many  are  probably  not  inspected  at  all. 
Inspections  when  made  must  necessarily  be  more  or  less  casual,  ex- 
cept as  respects  the  more  dangerous  machinery  and  the  more  dangerous 


28  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

processes.  Where  improper  conditions  are  found  a  reinspection  is 
made  in  order  to  discover  whether  the  orders  of  the  department  have 
been  carried  out. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  worth  while  here  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that 
legislation  since  1907  has  at  least  trebled  the  work  placed  upon  the 
department  of  factory  inspection,  while  during  the  same  period  the 
number  of  deputy  inspectors  has  been  increased  from  25  to  30.  It  has 
been  impossible  to  enforce  efTectively  all  labor  legislation  for  the 
whole  state,  and  the  tendency  to  some  extent  at  least  has  been  to 
devote  attention  primarily  to  Chicago.  Under  the  structural  worker's 
law,  for  example,  no  inspections  were  made  outside  of  Chicago  in 
1912-13.     This  is  an  exceptional  case. 

Most  of  the  legislation  enforced  by  the  department  of  factory  in- 
spection places  a  positive  duty  upon  the  employer,  and  makes  him 
liable  in  damages  to  a  workman  injured  through  non-compliance  with 
the  law,  but  this  burden  is  not  sufficient  to  compel  compliance.  (Per- 
haps if  all  legislation  permited  recovery  of  treble  damages  in  such 
cases,  this  would  be  a  deterrent,  but  such  a  plan  is  objectionable. 
The  workmen's  compensation  law  imposes  no  greater  burden  upon 
employers  under  it  where  a  workman  is  injured  because  of  the  em- 
ployer's non-compliance  with  statutory  safety  requirements.)  In  many, 
if  not  most  cases,  the  employer  will  wait  until  action  is  taken  by  the 
inspector.  This  is  especially  apt  to  be  true  where,  as  under  the  oc- 
cupational diseases  act,  a  general  dyty  is  imposed  upon  industries 
other  than  those  enumerated  as  especially  dangerous  to  health,  with 
a  duty  upon  the  inspector  in  certain  cases  to  require  devices  "which 
are  known  to  be  reasonably  adequate  and  sufficient."  (Sec.  12  of 
act.) 

•In  a  recent  number  of  the  American  Labor  Legislation  Review^ 
it  was  said  that  "An  army  of  the  most  skilled  factory  inspectors  would 
be  totally  unable  to  enforce  every  provision  of  the  factory  laws.  More- 
over, few  inspectors,  even  with  previous  technical  training,  would  be 
able  intelligently  to  pass  upon  proper  provisions  for  safety,  comfort 
and  health  in  a  succession  of  establishments  including  processes  and 
danger  points  so  varied  as  those  to  be  found  in  the  manufacture  of 
steel  and  silk,  carpets  and  chemicals,  shirt  waists  and  shovels,  or  in 
the  construction  of  skyscrapers  and  subways." 

In  terms  the  laws  of  Illinois  may  be  satisfactory,  but  the  terms  of 
the  law  alone  amount  to  little.  In  order  effectively  to  enforce  safe- 
guards in  industry  it  is  necessary : 

(1)  To  have  an  effective  reporting  of  accidents  and  occupational 
diseases,  so  that  the  danger  points  of  industr}^  may  be  easily  detected. 

(2)  To  penalize  in  some  way  the  occurrence  of  preventible  acci- 
dents. This  may  be  done  by  imposing  a  heavy  liability  upon  the  em- 
ployer in  favor  of  the  injured  party,  or  (in  states  which  have  adopted 
an  industrial  insurance  plan  of  workmen's  compensation)  by  varying 
the  rates  of  insurance  in  accordance  with  the  number  of  accidents  in 
any  particular  establishment. 

(3)  To  make  a  greater  use,  if  possible,  of  inspections  upon  com- 
plaint.    Some  inspections  are  now  made  upon  complaints  (which  are 

(2)     December,  1913,  p.  44. 


LABOR   AND    MINING, 


29 


usually  anonymous)    coming  to  the  office,  but  the  number  of  such 
inspections  is  relatively  small. 

(4)  To  have  a  closer  co-operation  of  the  factory  inspection  depart- 
ment with  local  authorities,  and  with  other  state  inspection  services. 
For  example,  the  enforcement  of  the  wash  room  act  of  1913  is  com- 
mitted to  mine  inspectors  and  to  factory  inspectors ;  and  one  of  the 
1913  amendments  to  the  coal  mining  act  provides  that  mine  inspectors 
"shall  hold  a  certificate  from  any  national  or  state  commission  or 
bureau  or  other  recognized  agency."  With  respect  to  local  co-opera- 
tion much  may  be  done  in  Chicago  with  respect  to  workshop  and 
building  inspection,  where  there  is  at  present  a  good  deal  of  duplica- 
tion. 

(5)  To  have  a  scheme  of  safety  rules  for  each  employment  worked 
out  by  co-operation  between  employers  and  employees.  Statutory  rules 
are  difficult  of  quick  adjustment  to  the  shifting  needs  of  industry,  and 
cannot  be  carefully  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  each  field  of  employ- 
ment. Moreover,  the  education  of  employers  and  employees  is  the  most 
essential  step  in  the  enforcement  of  safety  requirements,  and  this  edu- 
cation can  best  be  accomplished  by  a  co-operative  working  out  of 
safety  rules  by  those  actually  engaged  in  the  industry  itself. 

However,  a  larger  force  of  inspectors  is  also  necessary  if  the  factory 
laws  are  to  be  effectively  enforced,  and  there  must  be  some  assur- 
ance that  the  inspectors  are  competent  and  receive  adequate  salaries. 
A  salary  of  $1,200  is  inadequate,  and  appointment  by  the  Governor 
is  not  a  satisfactory  means  of  obtaining  competent  inspectors.  If 
higher  salaries  for  inspectors  are  provided,  there  should  be  some  grad- 
ing of  salaries  so  that  promotion  in  the  service  may  come  as  a  result 
of  efficient  work. 

The  reports  of  the  department  should  indicate  the  actual  work  done 
during  each  year.  The  report  for  1909  is  a  bulky  volume  made  up 
of  tables  of  inspections,  which  are  almost,  if  not  wholly  valueless. 
Steps  have  already  been  taken  by  the  Chief  of  the  Department  of 
Factory  Inspection  and  the  Printer  Expert  to  remedy  this  condition,  and 
the  report  for  1912-13  (in  manuscript)  represents  a  distinct  advance. 
The  1912-13  report  does  not  show,  however,  for  many  of  the  laws, 
how  widely  inspections  were  distributed.  A  statement  of  the  number 
of  inspections  made  in  Chicago  and  Cook  County  and  of  the  number 
made  outside  of  Cook  County  does  not  indicate  much  as  to  the  en- 
forcement of  factory  laws  throughout  the  state  at  large.  (Under  some 
of  the  laws  the  distribution  of  inspections  throughout  the  state  is 
given.)  The  report  for  December  16,  1910-June  30,  1912,  is  a  distinct 
improvement  over  that  for  1909,  but  the  value  of  a  report  is,  to  a 
large  extent  diminished  by  the  delay  in  issuing  it.  Until  the  spring 
of  1914  the  latest  report  of  the  department  of  factory  inspection  in 
print  was  that  of  1909.  A  periodical  bulletin  has  recently  been  started 
by  the  department,  and  through  it  information  regarding  factory  in- 
spection work  should  be  kept  fairly  well  up  to  date. 

In  order  to  enforce  the  various  labor  laws  committed  to  it  the  de- 
partment of  factory  inspection  should  have  a  complete  list  of  all 
establishments  subject  to  its  inspection,  but  it  has  no  such  list.  Nor, 
apparently,  has  any  careful  survey  of  the  state  ever  been  made  so  as 


30  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

to  determine  the  distribution  of  various  industries  subject  to  inspec- 
tion. Under  the  occupational  diseases  act  this  is  especially  necessary 
if  all  industries  (both  those  specifically  enumerated  in  the  law  itself 
and  those  generally  covered)  are  in  fact  brought  under  the  regulations 
of  the  act.  The  garment  workers'  act  of  1893  required  persons  oc- 
cupying or  controlling  a  workshop  to  notify  the  local  boards  of  health. 
This  statutory  provision  is  still  in  force  but  has  probably  never  been 
complied  with.  The  Chicago  ordinances  (Chicago  Code,  1911,  p.  506) 
require  an  annual  license  of  workshops,  and  this  requirement,  if  fully 
enforced,  should  result  in  the  obtaining  of  a  complete  record  of  such 
establishments  in  Chicago.  In  New  York  recent  legislation  requires 
the  registration  of  factories,  and  such  legislation  should  be  enacted 
in  Illinois. 

Prosecutions  for  the  violation  of  factory  laws  are  handled  for  Chi- 
cago by  the  attorney  of  the  factory  inspector's  office,  and  outside 
Chicago  prosecutions  are  managed  by  the  inspectors  alone  or  by  the 
inspectors  with  the  assistance  of  the  state's  attorney.  The  act  of 
1907,  as  amended  in  1911  (R.  S.  1913.  Ch.  48,  Sec.  77)  provides  that 
"it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  state's  attorney  of  the  proper  county,  upon 
the  request  of  the  chief  factory  inspector  or  his  deputies,  to  prosecute 
any  violation  of  the  law  which  it  is  made  the  duty  of  the  factory 
inspector  to  enforce.  And  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  attorney  for  such 
department  to  prosecute,  when  requested  by  the  chief  state  factory 
inspector,  any  infractions  or  violations  of  law  which  are  now  or  may 
be  hereafter  made  the  duty  of  the  factory  inspector  to  enforce."  The 
salary  of  the  attorney  of  the  department  is  not  high  enough  to  obtain 
the  full  time  of  a  competent  man. 

Most  violations  of  the  labor  statutes  are  handled  by  the  department 
without  prosecution,  and  as  to  several  of  the  laws  such  a  proceeding  is 
expressly  provided  for.  If,  upon  inspection,  a  violation  of  the  law  is 
found,  instructions  are  given  and  compliance  therewith  required  to  be 
had  within  a  given  time.  Reinspection  is  later  had  (although  often- 
times not  very  promptly)  to  see  if  the  instructions  have  been  complied 
with.  As  to  such  matters  as  safeguarding  machinery  the  number  of 
prosecutions  is  relatively  small. 

So  long  as  the  department  of  factory  inspection  has  its  office, in 
Chicago,  where  there  is  sufficient  work  to  take  the  time  of  all  inspect- 
ors, the  rest  of  the  state  will  necessarily  be  somewhat  neglected.  This 
results  in  part  from  the  fact  that  there  is  more  work  than  the  present 
force  can  do,  but  in  part  also  because  the  chief  inspector  has  disre- 
garded the  statutory  order  to  divide  the  state  into  inspection  districts. 
Some  degree  of  specialization  of  function  among  the  various  deputy 
inspectors  is  necessary,  but  the  division  of  the  state  outside  of  Chi- 
cago into  several  large  inspection  districts  would  probably  lead  to 
a  better  distribution  of  attention  as  between  Chicago  and  other  parts 
of  the  state. 

For  the  work  under  the  occupational  diseases  act  and  for  child  labor 

inspections    (if  the  physical  fitness  provision  is  to  be  enforced)   the 

medical  side  of  the  factory  inspection  service  should  be  very  much 

strengthened.  ' 

(3)     See   Preliminary    Report,    New    York    Factory    Investigating    Commission,    I 
(1912)  827. 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  31 


III.    COMMISSIONERS     OF     LABOR    AND     BUREAU     OF 

LABOR  STATISTICS. 
Historical  Note. 

The  bureau  of  labor  statistics  was  created  by  an  act  of  1879.  The 
board  of  commissioners  of  labor,  five  in  number,  were  appointed  by 
the  Governor  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  for 
a  temi  of  two  years.  Of  this  number  three  were  required  to  be 
manual  laborers,  the  remaining  members  to  be  manufacturers  or  em- 
ployers of  labor  in  some  productive  industry.  They  were  to  meet  an- 
nually at  the  State  Capitol  on  the  first  Monday  in  September,  when 
they  were  to  organize  themselves  by  electing  a  president  from  them- 
selves and  appointing  a  secretary,  who  was  to  hold  office  for  a  term 
of  two  years  or  until  his  successor  was  appointed,  the  secretary  to  have 
no  voice  in  the  deliberations  of  the  board  nor  to  be  selected  from 
the  Commission.  No  change  has  been  made  in  the  organization  of 
the  body  since  1879. 

The  compensation  of  the  commissioners  as  fixed  by  the  act  of  1879 
was  $5.00  per  day  for  thirty  days  of  each  annual  session.  The  secre- 
tary received  $1,200  per  year.  In  1903  an  amendment  was  passed 
which  increased  the  salary  of  the  secretary  to  $2,500  per  annum.  The 
board  of  commissioners  of  labor  was  established  to  control  the  work 
of  a  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  and  subsequent  statutes  oftentimes 
use  the  terms  "commissioners  of  labor"  and  "bureau  of  labor  statistics" 
interchangeably.  The  permanent  work  of  the  bureau  of  labor  sta- 
tistics is  done  by  the  secretary  of  the  board  of  commissioners  of  labor. 

As  expressed  by  the  act  of  1879,  the  duties  of  the  board  w.ere  "to 
collect,  assort,  systematize,  and  present  in  biennial  report  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  statistical  details  relating  to  all  departments  of  labor 
in  the  state,  especially  in  its  relation  to  the  commercial,  industrial, 
social,  educational,  and  sanitary  conditions  of  the  laboring  classes,  and 
to  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  mechanical,  manufacturing,  and 
productive  industries  of  the  state." 

In  1908  the  following  amendment  was  added :  "It  shall  be  the  duty 
of  every  employer  of  labor  in  this  state  to  afford  to  the  state  com- 
missioners of  labor  or  their  representative  every  facility  for  procuring 
Statistics  of  wages  and  conditions  of  their  employees  for  the  purpose 
of  compiling  and  publishing  statistics  of  labor  and  of  social  and  in- 
dustrial conditions  within  the  State  as  required  by  law.  Any  person 
who  shall  hinder  or  obstruct  the  investigation  of  the  agents  of  the 
commissioners  or  shall  neglect  or  refuse  for  a  period  of  ten  days  to 


32  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

furnish  the  information  called  for  by  the  schedules  of  the  commis- 
sioners as  provided  above,  shall  be  adjudged  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor 
and  be  subjected  to  a  fine  of  $100." 

In  1909  a  new  act  was  passed  repealing  the  act  of  1879  and  its 
amendments  of  1903  and  1908,  but  this  act  in  effect  only  added  one 
clause  which  imposed  new  duties  upon  the  board  of  labor  commis- 
sioners. Before  the  act  of  1909  the  duty  of  the  board  was  "to  collect, 
assort,  systematize statistical  details  in  relation  to  all  depart- 
ments of  labor  in  the  state,  especially  in  its  relation  to  the  commercial, 
industrial,  social,  educational,  and  sanitar)'  conditions  of  the  laboring 
classes,  and  to  the  permanent  prosperity"  of  the  State.  That  is,  the 
board  was  concerned  primarily  with  labor  conditions.  The  act  ot 
1909  extended  the  duties  of  the  board  to  include  commercial  and 
manufacturing  conditions  as  well.  The  provision  added  in  1909 
(though  in  form  the  entire  statute  was  re-enacted)  imposed  the  duty 
upon  the  board  to  collect,  assort,  systematize,  and  present  in  biennial 
report  to  the  General  Assembly  statistical  details  of  the  manufacturing 
and  productive  industries  of  the  state,  "setting  forth  such  details  as 
the  local  character  of  the  industry,  capital,  total  output,  number  of 
people  employed  and  such  other  details  as  will  give  a  total  presenta- 
tion of  the  industrial  and  commercial  condition  and  progress  of  the 
state ;  provided,  that  in  no  case  shall  statistics  thus  published  be  so 
arranged  as  to  reveal  the  affairs  of  any  single  industrial  or  commercial 
concern." 

In  addition  to  the  duties  thus  imposed  upon  the  board  by  the  general 
act.  it  has  also  been  concerned  with  the  enforcement  of  some  other  acts 
on  the  subject  of  labor. 

Accident  Reports. 

An  act  of  1907  requires  every  employer  of  laborers  to  report  to  the 
state  bureau  of  labor  statistics  every  serious  injury  entailing  a  loss  of 
30  or  more  days'  time.  It  is  the  duty  of  State  bareau  of  labor 
statistics  under  this  act  to  cause  such  reports  to  be  made  and  to  pub- 
lish, at  least  once  each  year  on  or  before  January  1st,  the  general  re- 
sults. The  subject  of  accident  reports  is  fully  discussed  elsewhere  in 
this  report. 

Mines  and  Mining. 

An  amendment  of  1883  to  the  coal  mining  act  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  mine  inspectors  upon  the  report  of  a  board  of  ex- 
aminers selected  by  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  and  also  provided 
for  the  removal  of  such  inspectors  under  certain  conditions  by  the 
bureau.  Annual  reports  to  the  bureau  were  required  from  inspectors, 
and  the  duty  of  making  reports  was  extended  by  later  amendments. 
In  1899  the  coal  mining  act  was  revised  and  a  state  mining  board 
created  to  be  appointed  by  the  commissioners  of  labor.  Mine  inspec- 
tion districts  were  created,  whose  boundaries  might  be  changed  by 
the  commissioners  of  labor,  and  under  certain  conditions  mine  in- 
spectors were  removable  by  the  commissioners  of  labor.  Each  inspect- 
or was  required  to  submit  an  annual  report  to  the  bureau  of  labor 
statistics,  and  this  bureau  was  required  to  compile,  summarize  and 
publish  such  reports  under  the  title  of  the  "Annual  Coal  Report" 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  33 

(This  series  was  begun  under  the  bureau,  in  1883.)  Supplies  were 
furnished  to  the  inspectors  by  the  Secretary  of  State  upon  requisi- 
tion of  the  secretary  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  A  specific  duty 
was  further  imposed  upon  every  coal  operator  to  afford  facilities  to 
the  commissioners  of  labor  for  procuring  statistics  of  the  wages  and 
conditions  of  their  employes,  and  penalties  were  imposed  for  failing 
to  report  to.  or  obstructing  investigations  by  the  commissioners. 

By  an  amendment  of  1907  the  appointment  of  the  State  mining 
board  was  vested  in  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Senate.  A  complete  revision  of  the  mining  law  was  made  in  1911,  and 
all  the  powers  and  duties  before  this  time  vested  in  the  bureau  of  labor 
statistics  or  commissioners  of  labor  under  the  mining  laws  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  state  mining  board.  The  reports  to  the  bureau  of  labor 
statistics  required  before  1911  from  inspectors  and  from  coal  operat- 
ors now  go  to  the  State  mining  board,  and  the  Annual  Coal  Report  is 
published  by  that  body. 

Private  Employment  Agencies. 

The  enforcement  of  the  act  relating  to  private  employment  agencies 
is  CQrtimitted  to  the  State  board  of  commissioners  of  labor  and  a  special 
officer  known  as  the  chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies. 
Their  duties  in  respect  thereto  are  fully  discussed  elsewhere  in  this 
report. 

Free  Employment  Offices. 

The  bureau  of  labor  statistics  is  also  interested  in  the  enforcement 
of  the  act  relative  to  free  employment  offices.  A  superintendent,  assis- 
tant superintendent,  and  one  clerk  for  each  of  the  individual  offices 
are  recommended  by  the  commissioners  of  labor  to  the  Governor  who 
appoints  with  the  consent  of  the  Senate.  Weekly  reports,  and  the 
annual  report  of  the  superintendents,  must  be  sent  to  the  bureau  of 
labor  statistics.  The  duties  of  the  superintendents  of  free  employ- 
ment offices  are  specified  in  the  act,  but  the  act  also  provides  that  the 
secretary  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  may  require  each  superin- 
tendent to  perform  other  duties  in  the  collection  of  additional  statis- 
tical and  sociological  data. 

Workmen's  Compensation  Act. 

Under  the  act  now  in  force,  passed  in  1913,  an  independent  body 
known  as  the  industrial  board  is  created,  which  has  complete  charge 
of  the  administrative  features  of  the  act.  But,  under  the  act  of  1911, 
relating  to  compensation  for  accidental  injuries,  these  functions  in 
general  were  performed  by  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  Reports  of 
accidents,  notices  of  election  not  to  accept  the  provisions  of  the  act, 
and  reports  of  all  arbitration  boards  were  to  be  sent  to  the  bureau. 
Under  the  present  act,  however,  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  has  no 
duties  to  perform. 

Reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics. 

The  act  creating  the  bureau  requires  a  biennial  report  to  be  made 
to  the  General  Assembly,  consisting  of  statistical  details  relative  to  all 
departments  of  labor  in  the  State,  and  by  the  amendment  of  1909,  said 


34  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

report  is  to  include  statistical  details  of  manufacturing  industries  of 
the  State.  Under  the  accident  reporting  statute  of  1907  an  annual 
report  of  accidents  is  required  to  be  published. 

The  biennial  reports  of  the  bureau  deal  with  a  great  variety  of  sub- 
jects all  of  which  are  related  in  some  way  to  the  general  condition  of 
the  laboring  classes.  No  particular  method  is  specified  in  the  act 
whereby  the  bureau  is  to  acquire  the  information  upon  which  its  re- 
ports are  to  be  based,  nor  are  there  any  restrictions  as  to  contents  of 
the  report,  other  than  the  general  one,  that  they  shall  deal  with  all  the 
departments  of  labor  in  the  State.  The  bureau  within  these  limits  is 
left  to  act  upon  its  own  discretion  and  in  its  own  way.  At  first  no 
authority  was  vested  in  the  bureau  to  require  employers  of  labor  and 
others  to  divulge  information  which  was  sought.  In  their 
report  for  1882,  the  board  of  labor  commissioners  called  attention  to 
this  lack  of  authority  to  require  the  submission  of  facts  relating  to 
labor,  but  not  until  1908  was  an  amendment  added  which, makes  it  the 
duty  of  employers  of  labor  to  afford  to  the  commissioners  every  facil- 
ity for  procuring  statistics  and  makes  it  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by 
fine  of  $100  to  hinder  or  obstruct  the  obtaining  of  information  or  to 
refuse  or  neglect  to  furnish  the  information  called  for  by  the  schedule 
sent  out  by  the  commissioners. 

Nevertheless,  during  the  period  from  1879  to  1908  the  reports  of  the 
bureau  were  based  upon  information  gained  from  primary  sources. 
In  1879  letters  were  sent  out  to  all  the  members  of  the  General  As- 
sembly and  to  all  county  and  city  clerks  requesting  them  to  send  in  to 
the  bureau  the  names  and  addresses  of  a  few  residents  of  their  re- 
spective townships  who  were  working  for  wages  and  also  the  names 
of  a  few  employers  of  labor.  Twelve  thousand  names  of  workmen 
were  sent  in  and  to  each  individual  workman  so  named  the  bureau 
sent  a  circular  containing  a  variety  of  questions  relating  to  wages,  hours 
of  work,  family  conditions,  cost  of  living,  manner  of  living,  and  gen- 
eral changes  desired  by  the  workmen.  Four  thousand  replies  were 
sent  in  and  based  upon  these  and  upon  the  replies  received  from  manu- 
facturing concerns,  the  first  report  was  issued. 

The  biennial  reports  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  as  a  series  have 
been  of  distinct  value,  although  the  earlier  work  of  the  bureau  was 
perhaps  of  more  value  than  that  done  recently.  The  btireau  regarded 
itself  as  a  general  statistical  bureau.  Its  reports  of  1894  and  1896 
dealt  with  taxation,  the  report  of  1908  with  public  and  private  owner- 
ship of  municipal  utilities,  and  that  of  1900  in  part  with  kindergartens 
and  manual  training.  These  reports,  while  not  always  prepared  with 
sufficient  care,  represented  investigations  which  should  properly  have 
been  undertaken  by  some  State  officer,  and  were  of  value. 

Present  Position  of  Bureau. 

From  1879  to  1893  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  (with  the  board  of 
commissioners  of  labor)  was  the  central  labor  office  for  Illinois.  But 
its  relative  importance  has  gradually  declined.  Factory  inspection 
began  in  1893,  and  an  independent  office  was  created  to  perform  this 
function.  In  1895  an  independent  board  of  arbitration  was  established. 
When    free    employment    offices    were    established    1899    they    were 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


35 


each  made  almost  completely  independent  of  the  bureau.  Private  em- 
ployment agencies  were  from  1903  to  1909  under  the  control  of  the 
bureau,  but  in  1909  a  chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies 
was  provided  to  administer  in  detail  the  legislation  relating  to  such 
agencies,  although  the  control  of  the  commissioners  of  labor  remained. 
The  mining  legislation,  which  had  been  under  the  control  of  the  com- 
missioners of  labor  since  1879,  was  withdrawn  by  acts  of  1907  and 
1911.  The  administration  of  the  workmen's  compensation  act  of  1911 
was  committed  to  the  bureau,  but  this  authority  was  withdrawn  in 
1913. 

With  each  new  departure  in  labor  legislation  the  tendency  has  been 
to  create  a  new  and  independent  administrative  organ.  The  bureau  of 
labor  statistics  has  at  present  substantially  the  following  functions : 
(1)  Supervision,  over  private  employment  agencies,  although  the  de- 
tailed work  is  performed  by  another  office.  (2)  A  slight  control  over 
the  free  employment  offices,  and  the  duty  of  publishing  the  reports  of 
these  offices.  (3)  The  duties  of  preparing  and  publishing  a  biennial 
report,  and  of  publishing  an  annual  report  of  accidents.  Its  duties 
are,  therefore,  at  present  primarily  informational  and  with  respect  to 
the  most  important  matter,  that  of  accident  reports,  its  usefulness  is 
badly  crippled  by  the  present  confusion  of  legislation  as  to  accident 
reporting.  The  biennial  report  of  1908  was  united  with  a  report  on 
industrial  accidents.  The  1910  biennial  report  appeared  in  1913,  and 
the  first  part  of  it  is  devoted  to  statistics  of  manufactures  in  Illinois, 
giving  in  somewhat  different  order  material  published  by  the  United 
States  Census  Bureau.  The  secretary  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
in  a  letter  of  January  8,  1914,  says :  "There  has  been  no  information 
collected  for  a  1912  biennial  report  for  this  bureau,  and  when  I  took 
charge  of  this  department  last  August  and  found  this  circumstance  I 
decided  that  at  this  late  date  a  1912  biennial  report  would  be  of  no 
value  by  the  time  information  was  collected  and  a  report  printed,  so 
the  next  biennial  report  of  this  office  will  be  for  1914,  information  for 
which  will  soon  be  collected."  The  last  report  on  industrial  accidents, 
that  for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1912,  is  about  as  prompt  as  any 
of  the  state  reports.  The  annual  report  of  free  employment  offices 
for  1913  is  in  print.  The  bureau  has  also  recently  prepared  a  bulletin 
containing  the  labor  legislation  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  in 
1913,  and  has  issued  a  compilation  of  labor  legislation  in  force  in 
Illinois. 


36  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 


IV.     PRIVATE  EMPLOYMENT  AGENCIES. 

The  act  of  1899,  creating  free  employment  offices  in  certain  tities, 
also  provided  for  the  licensing  of  private  employment  agencies  by  the 
Secretary  of  State.  The  machinery  provided  for  the  enforcement  of 
this  provision  was  unsatisfactory  and  a  uniform  license  fee  of  $200 
per  annum  imposed  upon  all  such  agencies  was  excessive ;  moreover 
no  regulations  were  prescribed  as  to  the  conduct  of  business  by  such 
agencies.  The  act  of  1903,  dealing  primarily  with  free  employment 
offices,  has  several  sections  applicable  to  private  employment  agencies, 
and  transferred  the  licensing  authority  to  the  commissioners  of  labor. 
Somewhat  detailed  regulations  were  provided  for  the  conduct  of  such 
agencies,  and  the  enforcement  of  these  regulations  was  committed  to 
the  state  board  of  labor  commissioners  and  their  secretary.  The  pro- 
visions of  1903  were  superseded  by  an  act  of  1909  which  is  devoted 
entirely  to  private  employment  agencies.  This  act  regulates  such 
agencies  in  great  detail,  and  commits  the  enforcement  of  its  terms  to 
the  commissioners  of  labor,  and  to  a  new  officer  designated  as  chief 
inspector  of  private  employment  agencies. 

Section  7  of  the  act  of  1909  defines  a  private  employment  agency  as 
being  "any  person,  firm  or  corporation,  who  for  hire,  or  with  a  view  to 
profit,  shall  undertake  to  secure  employment  or  help,  or  through  the 
medium  of  card,  circular,  pamphlet,  or  any  medium  whatsoever,  as 
through  the  display  of  a  sign  or  bulletin,  offer  to  secure  employment 
or  help,  or  give  information  as  to  where  employment  or  help  may  be 
secured."    Charitable  institutions  are  expressly  exempted  from  control. 

The  act  forbids  the  opening,  keeping  or  carrjnng  on  of  any  employ- 
ment agency  in  the  State  of  Illinois  unless  a  license  therefor  shall  be 
procured  from  the  state  board  of  labor  commissioners.  A  violation  of 
this  provision  is  made  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  less 
than  $50  and  not  more  than  $200,  or  on  failure  to  pay  such  fine,  by 
imprisonment  for  a  period  not  exceeding  six  months,  or  both,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  court.  The  act  provides  that  licenses  shall  be  issued 
by  the  board  of  labor  commissioners  and  fixes  an  annual  fee  therefor 
of  $50  in  cities  of  50,000  population  and  over,  and  of  $25  in  all  cities 
containing  less  than  50,000  population. 

A  person  desiring  a  license  must  file  with  the  board  of  labor  commis- 
sioners an  application  therefor.  Such  application  must  be  accom- 
panied by  the  affidavits  of  two  persons  who  have  known  the  applicant, 
or  the  chief  officer  thereof,  if  a  corporation,  for  two  years,  stating 
that  the  applicant  is  a  person  of  good  moral  character.  The  board  of 
labor  commissioners  is  to  post  each  such  application,  on  the  date  of 
filing,  in  its  office  or  in  the  office  of  the  chief  inspector  of  private  em- 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


37 


ployment  agencies,  where  it  must  be  kept  until  it  is  acted  upon.  The 
board  of  labor  commissioners  cannot  act  on  the  application  until  after 
the  expiration  of  one  week  from  the  date  of  filing  the  application,  but 
they  must  act  upon  it  within  thirty  days  from  the  time  of  application. 
But  before  the  board  may  grant  any  license  notice  of  such  application 
shall  be  published  on  three  distinct  days  by  them  in  some  daily  news- 
paper of  general  circulation  throughout  the  county  within  which  the 
applicant  desires  to  locate  such  agency.  The  applicant  is  required  to 
file  with  his  application  a  bond  for  the  penal  sum  of  $500,  with  one  or 
more  sureties,  to  be  approved  by  the  commissioners  of  labor,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  obliger  will  conform  to  and  not  violate  any  of  the  terms 
of  the  act.  Any  person  injured  by  the  misconduct  of  the  licensed 
person  is  given  the  right  to  sue  on  the  bond,  and  claims  of  this  char- 
acter are  made  assignable. 

If  these  conditions  are  complied  with  the  license  is  issued.  Each 
license  must  contain:  (1)  Name  of  person  licensed.  (2)  City,  street 
and  number  of  the  house  in  which  the  licensed  person  is  authorized  to 
carry  on  business.      (3)  Number  and  date  of  the  license. 

In  the  matter  of  location  of  the  office  the  licensed  person  is  under 
the  restriction  that  no  agency  shall  be  located  on  premises  where  in- 
toxicating liquors  are  sold,  excepting  cafes  and  restaurants  in  office 
buildings. 

The  license  is  not  valid  to  protect  any  place  other  than  the  one  desig- 
nated therein,  but  if  a  change  of  location  is  desired  and  the  licensed 
person  obtains  the  consent  of  the  board  of  labor  commissioners,  or  the 
chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies,  and  in  addition  secures 
the  written  consent  of  the  sureties  on  the  bond,  the  license  will  then 
cover  the  new  location. 

The  act  contains  detailed  regulations :  as  to  the  registers  for  applica- 
tions for  help  and  for  employment,  which  are  to  be  kept  open  during 
office  hours  for  inspection  by  the  officers  vested  with  the  enforcement 
of  the  act ;  as  to  the  employes  or  solicitors  of  such  agencies ;  as  to  the 
registration  and  other  fees ;  as  to  receipts  for  fees  and  return  thereof 
in  case  employment  is  not  obtained  within  a  certain  time  or  does  not 
extend  beyond  a  certain  time ;  as  to  sending  applicants  to  places  where 
no  employment  actually  exists ;  as  to  safeguards  in  sending  applicants 
outside  of  the  city  in  which  the  agency  is  located ;  and  as  to  numerous 
other  matters. 

Each  receipt  of  an  agency  is  required  to  have  printed  on  its  back  the 
name  and  address  of  the  State  board  of  labor  commissioners  and  of  the 
chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies.  The  agencies  are  also 
required  to  have  the  more  important  provisions  of  the  act  posted  in 
their  offices.  The  agencies  are  specifically  forbidden  to  send  female 
help  to  any  place  known  to  be  of  questionable  character,  or  to  aid  in 
obtaining  employment  for  any  child  in  violation  of  the  child  lab^r  acts 
of  1897  and  1903. 

For  sending  females  to  questionable  places  and  for  certain  other 
offences,  the  penalty  (under  section  6  of  the  act)  is  a  fine  of  not  less 
than  $50  and  not  more  than  $200  or  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail 
or  house  of  correction  for  a  period  of  not  more  than  one  year,  or  both 


38  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

at  the  discretion  of  the  court.  For  the  violation  of  the  other  pro- 
visions there  is  a  possible  fine  of  $25  or  imprisonment  for  30  days. 
In  addition  the  license  may  be  revoked  for  any  illegal  conduct. 

Organization  of  the  Enforcing  Authority. 

Enforcement  of  tlie  act  is  committed  to  the  State  board  of  labor 
commissioners  and  an  officer  to  be  known  as  the  chief  inspector  of 
private  employment  agencies.  The  chief  inspector  is  first  recom- 
mended by  the  State  board  of  labor  commissioners  and  appointed  by 
the  Governor,  at  a  salary  of  $3,600  per  year  for  a  term  of  office  ex- 
tending through  the  period  of  the  incumbency  of  the  Governor  appoint- 
ing him,  or  until  his  successor  is  appointed.  By  the  terms  of  the  act 
deputy  inspectors  may  be  appointed  by  the  chief  inspector  with  the 
approval  of  the  Governor,  one  inspector  for  ever}^  fifty  licensed 
agencies  or  major  fraction  thereof,  at  a  salary  of  $1,500  per  annum. 
By  an  amendment  of  1911  one  woman  investigator  of  domestic  agencies 
was  added.  The  deputy  inspectors  and  the  woman  investigator  are 
now  appointed  under  the  terms  of  the  civil  service  amendment  act  of 
1911. 

The  chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies  is  required  to 
furnish  bond  payable  to  the  State  of  Illinois  in  the  sum  of  $5,000. 
Each  inspector  is  required  to  make  at  least  bi-monthly  visits  to  every 
agency  over  which  he  has  jurisdiction.  Such  inspectors  are  charged 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  chief  inspector  and  board  of  labor  commis- 
sioners, to  see  that  all  the  provisions  of  the  act  are  complied  with,  and 
they  shall  have  no  other  occupation  or  business. 

Duties  of  the  Enforcing  Authority. 

Under  the  act  the  enforcing  authorities  perform  in  the  main,  three 
functions:  (a)  granting  of  licenses,  (b)  compelling  an  observance  of 
the  specific  provisions  of  the  act  (by  inspections  and  prosecutions), 
and  (c)  revocation  of  licenses. 

(a)  Granting  of  Licenses.  The  provisions  of  the  statute  govern- 
ing issuance  of  licenses  have  already  been  noted.  The  granting  of 
licenses  is  committed  exclusively  to  the  State  board  of  labor  commis- 
sioners. The  general  requirements  before  a  license  may  be  issued  are: 
That  the  applicant  tender  the  required  fee,  submit  affidavits  of  two 
persons  who  have  known  him  for  two  years,  which  shall  state  that  the 
applicant  is  of  good  moral  character,  and  submit  a  bond  in  a  penal  sum 
of  $500.  But  even  if  these  provisions  are  complied  with  the  board  is 
not  bound  as  a  matter  of  course  to  issue  the  license.  The  act  expressly 
provides  that  the  State  board  of  labor  commissioners  may  refuse  to 
issue  a  license  for  any  good  cause  shown,  within  the  meaning  and  pur- 
Dose  of  this  act.  However,  if  a  license  is  refused,  the  determination  is 
subject  to  review  on  a  writ  of  certiorari. 

(b)  Compelling  observance  of  the  provisions  of  the  act.  The 
state  board  of  labor  commissioners  and  the  chief  inspector  of  private 
employment  agencies  (and  under  his  direction  the  inspectors)  are  en- 
trusted with  the  enforcement  of  the  act.  For  the  most  part  the  act 
lays  down  specific  requirements  and  prohibitions  upon  persons  licensed 
to  conduct  private  employment  agencies.     The  act  expressly  provides 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  39 

that  the  "violation  of  any  provision  of  this  act  except  as  provided  in 
Section  1  and  6  shah  be  punishable  by  a  fine  not  to  exceed  $25  and  any 
city  magistrate,  judge  of  a  municipal  court,  police  justice,  justice  of  the 
peace,  or  any  inferior  magistrate  having  original  jurisdiction  in  crim- 
inal cases  shall  have  power  to  impose  said  fine,  and  in  default  of  pay- 
ment thereof  to  commit  to  the  county  jail  or  house  of  correction  the 
persons  so  offending  for  a  period  of  not  exceeding  30  days." 

The  State  board  of  labor  commissioners  or  the  chief  inspector  of 
private  employment  agencies  or  any  of  the  inspectors  created  by  this 
act,  may  institute  criminal  proceedings  for  its  enforcement  before  any 
court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  and  the  State  board  of  labor  commis- 
sioners is  given  authority  to  employ  legal  advice  or  services  whenever 
in  its  opinion  such  advice  or  services  are  necessary. 

Further  to  ensure  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  the  act,  the 
chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies  and  all  inspectors 
created  by  this  act  are  given  full  power  to  execute  and  serve  all  war- 
rants and  process  of  law  issued  by  any  justice  of  the  peace  or  police 
magistrate,  or  by  any  court  having  competent  jurisdiction  under  the 
law  relating  to  employment  agencies,  in  the  same  manner  as  any  con- 
stable or  police  officer,  and  they  may  arrest  on  view  and  without  war- 
rant any  unlicensed  person  detected  by  them  actually  violating  any  of 
the  provisions  of  the  act  and  may  take  such  persons  so  offending  before 
any  court  having  jurisdiction  of  the  offense,  and  make  proper  com- 
plaint before  such  court,  which  shall  proceed  with  the  case  in  the  man- 
ner and  form  provided  by  law. 

(c)  Power  to  revoke  licenses.  The  State  board  of  labor  commis- 
sioners is  given  power  to  revoke  any  license  for  good  cause  shown 
within  the  meaning  and  purpose  of  this  act,  and  when  it  is  shown  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  board  of  commissioners  of  labor  that  any  person 
is  guilty  of  any  immoral,  fraudulent  or  illegal  conduct  in  connection 
with  said  business,  it  is  then  the  duty  of  the  board  to  revoke  the  license 
of  such  person.  But  before  any  license  may  be  revoked  notice  of  the 
chaj"ge  must  be  presented  and  reasonable  opportunity  given  the  licensed 
person  to  defend  himself  in  the  manner  and  form  as  provided  in  this 
act.  Such  proceedings  are  begun  by  filing  a  complaint  against  the 
licensed  person  with  the  State  board  of  labor  commissioners  or  with  the 
chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies.  This  complaint  may 
be  made  orally  or  in  writing. 

A  concise  statement  of  the  facts  constituting  the  complaint  is  then 
written  out  and  served  (personally)  upon  the  licensed  nerson,  and 
notice  of  the  place  of  hearing  must  be  given.  A  hearing  may  be  had 
before  the  state  board  of  labor  commissioners,  or  before  the  chief 
inspector  of  private  employment  agencies  if  the  board  so  designates. 
The  licensed  person  is  entitled  to  at  least  one  day  before  the  hearing, 
after  receiving  notice  thereof,  but  the  hearing  must  be  had  within  one 
week  from  the  filing  of  the  complaint.  The  determination  must  be 
within  eight  days  from  the  time  the  matter  is  finally  submitted.  If  the 
license  is  thereupon  revoked,  the  determination  is  subject  to  review  on 
writ  of  certiorari. 


40  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

A  calendar  must  he  kc[>{  ]>y  the  state  board  of  hilujr  commissioners 
of  the  complaints  they  are  to  hear  and  by  the  chief  inspector  of  those 
he  is  to  hear,  and  must  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  its  or  his 
office  for  at  least  one  day  before  the  date  of  such  hearing. 

The  chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies  is  given  con- 
current power  with  the  State  board  of  labor  commissioners  with  re- 
spect to  the  hearing  of  complaints  against  licensed  persons,  provided 
he  is  designated  by  the  board  to  hold  such  hearings,  but  cannot  him- 
self revoke  the  license.  The  State  board  of  labor  commissioners,  which 
issued  the  license,  is  the  only  body  granted  power  to  revoke.  When 
the  board  has  issued  an  order  revoking  a  license,  the  order  does  not 
become  effective  until  seven  days  after  such  revocation  has  been  of- 
ficially announced.  Such  revocation  is  good  cause  for  refusing  to 
issue  another  license  to  the  same  person  or  his  representative,  or  to 
any  person  with  whom  he  is  associated. 

Finances. 

The  act  of  1909  contemplated  that  the  office  of  chief  inspector  of 
private  employment  agencies  should  be  self-supporting.  Salaries  and 
general  expenses  were  to  be  paid  from  the  license  fees  and  fines  col- 
lected under  the  provisions  of  the  act.  The  following  items  were  to 
be  paid  from  this  fund : 

Salary  of  chief  inspector,  $3,600  per  annum,  payable  monthly,  upon 
voucher  therefor  filed  with  the  Auditor  of  Public  Accounts,  and  ap- 
proved by  the  Governor;  necessary  printing,  stationery  and  postage, 
office  furniture,  rent  of  rooms,  salaries  of  assistants,  such  as  clerks 
and  stenographers,  as  the  office  required ;  any  expense  incurred  in  ob- 
taining legal  advice;  salaries  of  inspectors  $1,500  per  annum,  such 
salary  to  be  audited  and  paid  on  certificates  of  the  chief  inspector  of 
private  employment  agencies.  Should  the  fund  prove  insufficient,  the 
board  of  labor  commissioners  was  given  power  to  suspend  any  number, 
or  all  of  such  inspectors  until  the  fund  was  again  replenished. 

The  State  board  of  labor  commissioners,  at  the  end  of  each  fiscal 
year,  was  required  to  make  an  account  of  said  license  fee  fund  and  pay 
into  the  State  treasury  whatever  balance  remained  after  having  made 
the  necessary  disbursements.  But  by  legislation  of  1911,  all  fees  are 
required  to  be  paid  into  the  State  Treasury,  quarterly,  and  no  money 
is  expended  except  upon  the  warrant  of  the  auditor  of  public  accounts, 
based  upon  appropriations  made  by  the  general  assembly. 

In  the  act  relating  to  private  employment  agencies  there  is  no  pro- 
vision requiring  reports  of  the  work  of  supervision.  The  work,  how- 
ever, is  under  the  control  of  the  State  board  of  commissioners  of  labor, 
and  this  board  is  required  to  collect,  assort,  systematize  and  present  in 
biennial  report  to  the  General  Assemblv  statistical  details  relating  to 
all  departments  of  labor  in  the  State. 

Reports. 

The  act  relating  to  free  employment  offices  requires  an  annual  re- 
port to  be  made  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  by  each  superintendent 
of  a  free  employment  office,  not  later  than  December  1,  concerning  the 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  41 

work  of  his  office  for  the  year  ending  October  1.  The  reports  from 
all  free  employment  offices  are  systematized,  rearranged  and  published 
annually  by  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  The  report  for  1909  of  the 
bureau  of  labor  statistics  of  the  Illinois  free  employment  offices  con- 
tains also  a  report  of  the  chief  inspector  of  private  employment 
agencies  for  the  years  ending  August  31,  1909  and  August  31,  1910;  a 
similar  report  for  the  period  Sept,  1,  1910 — ^June  30,  1911,  is  contained 
in  the  free  employment  offices  reports  for  1911 ;  and  for  1912  and  1913 
the  reports  appear  in  the  1912  and  1913  reports  of  the  free  employ- 
ment offices. 

Before  1911  the  chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies  re- 
ported to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  concerning  the  work  of  his 
office  for  the  year  ending  August  31.  Legislation  of  this  year  required- 
all  fees  and  fines  collected  by  him  and  the  commissioners  of  labor  to 
be  paid  over  to  the  State  Treasury  on  or  before  the  second  Wednesday 
of  January,  April,  July  and  October  of  each  year.  Referring  to  this 
amendment  in  his  report  to  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  in  1910,  the 
Chief  Inspector  of  Private  Employment  Offices  says : 

"This  change  having  made  it  necessary  for  the  General  Assembly  to 
make  appropriations  for  the  maintenance  of  our  office  and  creating  a 
new  channel  through  which  the  license  fees  reach  the  State  Treasury, 
I  therefore,  submit  to  you  another  report  on  the  supervision  of  the 
private  employment  agencies  in  Illinois  for  a  period  of  ten  months 
from  September  1,  1910  to  June  30,  1911."  The  reports  of  the  chief 
inspector  for  1912  and  1913  published  in  reports  of  the  bureau  of  labor 
statistics  on  free  employment  offices,  cover  the  regular  fiscal  year,  July 
1  to  June  30,  although  some  of  the  information  presented  by  the  sec- 
retary of  the  board  of  commissioners  of  labor  covers  the  years  ending 
August  31. 

The  law  for  the  inspection  of  private  employment  agencies  is  en- 
forced primarily  in  Chicago,  and  has  little  operation .  with  respect  to 
other  parts  of  the  State,  except  so  far  as  other  places  may  be  easily 
reached  from  Chicago.  As  stated  in  the  1912  report  and  as  stated  for 
the  present  time  by  the  chief  inspector  personally  this  is  due  to  the 
small  appropriation.  Personal  inspections  are  not  made  outside  of 
Chicago,  and  the  problem  there  is  probably  sufficient  to  keep  all  the 
inspectors  busy.  In  smaller  cities,  especially  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  State,  there  are  probably  a  number  of  agencies  of  which  no  record 
even  is  had.  In  1912  there  were  in  this  office  a  chief  inspector,  five 
deputies  and  three  other  employees.  Because  of  the  smallness  of 
funds,  the  public  notice  by  advertisement  of  the  applications  for  license, 
was  not  given  in  1912,  and  there  was  little  opportunity  to  employ 
special  counsel.  Some  use  during  this  year  has  been  made  of  special 
counsel  but  reliance  is  ordinarily  placed  upon  the  regular  prosecuting 
officers. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that  the  law  requires 
an  inspection  of  each  agency  once  every  two  months.     If  the  whole 


42  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

field  of  employment  agencies  is  covered  an  inspection  of  this  frequency 
probably  cannot  be  had;  for  some  types  of  agencies  it  may  be  unneces- 
sary, while  as  to  other  agencies  an  even  more  frequent  inspection  is 
desirable.     This  requirement  has  not  been  observed. 

With  reference  to  the  revocation  of  licenses  it  has  already  been  sug- 
gested that  the  commissioners  of  labor  may  themselves  hold  hearings 
or  may  authorize  the  chief  inspector  to  do  so.  The  commissioners 
have  not  ordinarily  (if  in  any  cases)  authorized  the  chief  inspector  to 
hold  hearings,  and  this  makes  difficulty  in  that  the  hearing  must  be 
held  within  one  week  after  the  filing  of  the  complaint.  It  is  difficult 
to  get  the  commissioners  together  to  hold  a  hearing  inasmuch  as  their 
compensation  is  nominal.  Proceedings  to  forfeit  licenses  may  there- 
fore fail  on  this  account.  Of  course,  the  commissioners  must  act  in 
revoking  the  license,  and  such  action  is  under  present  law  required  to 
be  taken  within  eight  days  after  the  matter  is  finally  submitted.  It 
would  be  well  for  the  commissioners  to  employ  the  chief  inspector  to 
a  greater  extent  for  the  taking  of  testimony,  and  the  law  should  be 
amended  so  as  to  permit  a  longer  time  between  the  filing  and  the  hear- 
ing of  complaints. 

The  present  method  of  appointing  the  chief  inspector  is  one  which 
is  not  conducive  to  the  best  results.  In  offices  of  this  character  poli- 
tical influence  should  not  count,  but  some  impartial  method  should  be 
employed  to  test  efficiency  for  the  duties  to  be  performed. 

A  difficulty  in  the  enforcement  of  the  act  arises  from  the  fact  that 
charitable  institutions  are  not  included.  In  many  cases  agencies  ac- 
tually charging  fees  and  doing  a  general  business  as  employment 
agencies  masquerade  as  charitable  institutions  in  order  to  escape  the 
operation  of  the  law. 


LABQR    AND    MINING.  43 


V.     FREE  EMPLOYMENT  OFFICES. 

By  an  act  approved  April  11,  1899,  free  employment  offices  were 
created,  one  in  each  city  of  not  less  than  50,000  population,  and  three 
in  each  city  containing  a  population  of  one  million  or  over.  A  super- 
intendent, assistant  superintendent,  and  clerk  for  each  of  these  offices 
were  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  State  board  of  commission- 
ers of  labor.  The  duties  of  the  superintendent  were  definitely  pre- 
scribed, and  he  was  required  to  make  an  annual  report  to  the  State 
bureau  of  labor  statistics.  Whenever  the  commissioners  of  labor  were 
of  the  opinion  that  a  superintendent  was  not  duly  diligent  and  ener- 
getic in  the  performance  of  his  duties,  they  were  authorized,  after  a 
hearing,  to  recommend  his  removal  to  the  Governor.  The  Governor 
was  authorized  to  remove  the  superintendents  upon  such  recommenda- 
tion, or  to  remove  at  any  time  for  cause  any  superintendent,  assistant 
superintendent,  or  clerk.  Under  this  act  three  free  employment  offices 
were  established  in  Chicago  in  1899,  and  after  the  census  of  1900,  one 
in  Peoria  in  1901. 

The  act  of  1899  was  superseded  by  an  act  of  1903,  which  repeats  in 
large  part  the  provisions  of  the  earlier  act,  but  does  not  contain  pro- 
visions regarding  the  removal  of  superintendents.  An  amendment  of 
1913  to  the  act  of  1903  creates  free  employment  agencies,  "one  in  two 
or  more  contiguous  cities  or  towns  having  an  aggregate  or  combined 
population  of  not  less  than  50,000  population."  Under  the  act  of  1903, 
as  amended,  there  are  three  free  employment  offices  in  Chicago  (1899), 
and  one  each  in  Peoria  (1901),  East  St.  Louis  (1907),  Springfield 
(1909),  Rockford,  and  Rock  Island  (1913). 

The  purpose  of  these  offices  is,  as  stated  in  the  act,  to  receive  appli- 
cations of  persons  seeking  employment  and  to  receive  applications  of 
persons  seeking  to  employ  labor.  Each  free  employment  office  is  placed 
in  the  charge  of  a  superintendent,  who  is  aided  by  an  assistant  super- 
intendent and  a  clerk,  all  of  whom  are  to  devote  their  entire  time  to 
the  duties  of  their  respective  offices.  The  Governor  is  given  power 
to  appoint,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  commissioners  of  labor, 
the  superintendent,  assistant  superintendent,  and  clerk,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  The  act  provides  that  in  each 
case,  either  the  assistant  superintendent  or  the  clerk  shall  be  a  woman. 
The  salary  of  the  superintendent  is  fixed  at  $1,500  per  year,  assistant- 
superintendent  $1,200  per  year,  and  of  the  clerk  $1,000  per  year.  By 
appropriation  acts  additional  assistants  have  been  provided  for  all  of 
the  offices  except  that  of  Rock  Island.  The  additional  employees  of 
these  offices  are  in  the  classified  civil  service.  At  present  the  Chicago 
South  Side  office  has  seven  employees,  and  each  of  the  other  Chicago 


44  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

offices  six ;  the  East  St.  Louis,  Peoria,  Springfield  and  Rockford  offices 
have  five  employees  each ;  and  the  Rock  Island  office  the  three  em- 
ployees provided  by  the  Statutes  of  1899  and  1903. 

The  first  duty  devolving  upon  a  superintendent  is  the  selection  of  an 
office  in  the  city  where  the  free  employment  office  is  to  be  opened. 
Th  location  of  the  office  is  agreed  upon  between  the  superintendent  and 
the  secretary  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics. 

The  primary  duty  of  free  employment  offices  is  to  supply  laborers 
to  those  who  apply  for  help  and  to  supply  work  to  those  who  apply  for 
employment.  That  is,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  offices  to  bring  employer 
and  employee  together.  Their  duty  is  not  confined  to  unskilled  labor- 
ers, for  the  language  of  the  statute  is  sufficiently  broad  to  cover  any 
kind  of  employment  whether  skilled,  unskilled,  or  even  professional. 
A  person  may  apply  for  any  kind  of  help  or  any  kind  of  work. 

The  act  expressly  provides  that  the  superintendent  shall  keep  a  book 
in  which  he  is  to  keep  the  names  of  all  applicants  for  employment  and 
help,  and  section  8  of  the  act  defines  "applicant  for  employment"  to 
mean  any  person  seeking  work  of  any  lawful  character,  and  "applicant 
for  help"  as  meaning  any  person  or  persons  seeking  help  in  any  legiti- 
mate enterprise,  "and  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  limit 
the  meaning  of  the  term  work  to  manual  occupation,  but  it  shall  in- 
clude professional  services  and  all  other  legitimate  service." 

The  superintendent  is  required  to  do  something  more  than  to 
attempt  to  fill  requests  for  M^ork  and  help  which  come  to  the  office.  An 
active  duty  is  imposed  upon  him  to  find  out  where  work  is  available  and 
where  laborers  of  all  kinds  are  wanted.  The  statute  expressly  pro- 
vides that  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  superintendent  of  a  free  employ- 
ment office  immediately  to  put  himself  in  communication  with  the 
principal  manufacturers,  merchants  and  other  employers  of  labor,  and 
to  use  all  diligence  in  securing  the  co-operation  of  the  said  employers 
of  labor.  To  this  end  the  superintendent  is  authorized  to  advertise  in 
the  columns  of  newspapers,  or  other  media  for  such  situations  as  he 
has  applicants  to  fill,  and  he  may  advertise  in  a  general  way  for  the 
co-operation  of  large  contractors  and  employers,  in  such  trade  journals 
or  special  publications  as  reach  such  employers,  whether  such  trade 
or  special  journals  are  published  in  this  state  or  not.  The  following 
out  of  this  scheme  of  general  advertising  for  information  concerning 
places  where  work  may  be  had  and  where  laborers  are  wanted,  does  not, 
however,  relieve  the  superintendent  from  pursuing  other  methods  by 
means  of  which  employers  and  employees  may  be  brought  together 
The  superintendent  is  given  a  wide  range  of  discretion  in  choosing 
effective  methods  for  finding  out  just  what  the  needs  of  employers  and 
employees  are.  The  act  expressly  provides  that  in  addition  to  the 
means  suggested,  the  superintendent  is  "to  use  all  diligence  in  secur- 
ing the  co-operation  of  the  said  employers  of  labor  with  the  purposes 
and  objects  of  this  act."  There  is  in  the  statute  an  authorization  for 
payment  of  an  interpreter,  when  necessary. 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


45 


With  reference  to  general  office  management,  the  act  provides : 

(1)  That  the  superintendent  is  to  receive  and  record  in  books* 
kept  for  that  purpose  the  names  of  all  persons  applying  for  help, 
designating  opposite  the  name  and  address  of  each  applicant  the 
character  of  the  employment  or  help  desired. 

(2)  That  separate  rooms  be  kept  for  women  who  register  for 
situations  or  help. 

(3)  That  the  superintendent  shall  keep  a  separate  register  for 
applicants  for  employment  which  must  show:  (a)  the  age,  sex,  nativ- 
ity, trade  or  occupation  of  each  applicant;  (b)  cause  and  duration  of 
non-employment;  (c)  whether  married  or  single;  (d)  the  number  of 
dependent  children. 

The  act  also  requires  that  the  registers  for  applicants  shall  show 
"such  other  facts  as  may  be  required  by  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
to  be  used  by  said  bureau,"  but  provides  "that  no  special  registers  shall 
be  open  to  public  inspection  at  any  time,  and  that  such  statistical  and 
sociological  data  as  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  may  require  shall 
be  held  in  confidence  by  said  bureau,  and  so  published  as  not  to  reveal 
the  identity  of  any  one,"  and  further,  "that  any  applicant  who  shall 
decline  to  furnish  answers  as  to  the  questions  contained  in  special  reg- 
isters shall  not  thereby  forfeit  any  rights  to  any  employment  the  office 
might  secure."  Another  provision  of  the  act  requires  that  each  super- 
intendent "also  perform  such  other  duties  in  the  collection  of  statistics 
of  labor  as  the  secretary  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  may  require." 

Section  7  of  the  act  provides  that  no  fee  or  compensation  shall  be 
charged  or  received  directly  or  indirectly  from  persons  applying  for 
employment  or  help  through  the  free  employment  offices,  and  the  vio- 
lation of  this  clause  is  made  a  misdemeanor  punishable  by  fine  and 
imprisonment. 

The  superintendent  of  each  employment  office  is  required  to 
make  two  reports,  a  weekly  report,  on  Thursday  of  each  week,  and  an 
annual  report  not  later  than  December  of  each  year,  concerning  the 
work  of  his  office  for  the  year  ending  October  1  ;  both  reports  are 
to  be  made  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics. 

In  his  weekly  report  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  the  super- 
intendent must  give  the  following  information:  (1)  The  number  of 
applications  for  positions  received  during  the  preceding  week.  (2)  The 
number  of  applications  for  help  received  during  the  preceding  week. 
(3)  The  number  of  positions  secured.  (4)  The  number  of  unfilled 
applications  remaining  on  the  books  at  the  beginning  of  the  week,  and 
(5)  the  number  and  character  of  positions  secured  during  the  pre- 
ceding week. 

The  secretary  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  is  required  to  cause 
to  be  printed  not  later  than  Saturday  of  each  week,  a  sheet  showing 
separately  and  in  combination  the  lists  received  from  all  such  free 
employment  offices.  The  publication  of  weekly  reports  seems  to  be 
of  no  great  value. 

••Section    13    provides    that    blank    books    and    such    supplies    as    may    be    necessary    shall 
be  furnished  by  the  Secretary  of  State  upon   requisition  made  by  the  superintendents. 


46  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

In  his  annual  report  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  which  must 
be  made  not  later  than  December  1,  of  each  year,  each  superintendent 
must  report  "concerning  the  work  of  his  office  for  the  year  ending; 
October  1st  of  the  same  year,  together  with  a  statement  of  the  expenses 
of  the  same,  including  the  charge  of  an  interpreter  when  necessary." 
The  annual  reports  are  required  to  be  published  by  the  bureau  of  labor 
statistics,  and  under  the  act  of  1903,  were  to  be  published  with  the 
Coal  Report  of  that  bureau.  The  publication  of  the  Coal  Report  was 
in  1911  transferred  to  the  state  mining  board.  Even  before  this,  the 
bureau  of  labor  statistics  issued  the  annual  report  of  free  employment 
agencies  in  separate  form,  as  well  as  in  combination  with  the  Coal 
Report. 

The  annual  reports  issued  by  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  give 
consolidated  statistics  for  all  of  the  offices,  as  well  as  the  separate 
reports  for  each  free  employment  office,  but  these  reports  indicate 
little  as  to  the  efficiency  of  the  offices.  The  total  number  of  applications 
for  employment  in  1912  was  73,356,  and  in  the  same  period  69,883  posi- 
tions were  secured  by  the  six  offices  then  in  existence.  But  far  the 
greater  number  of  applications  for  employment  go  to  private  employ- 
ment agencies,  in  Chicago  especially. 

The  free  employment  offices  do  only  a  small  amount  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  their  small  number,  of  course,  accounts  in  part  for  this.  In 
1912  two  hundred  and  eighty-four  licenses  were  issued  to  private  em- 
ployment agencies,  and  reports  from  113  of  these  showed  404,153 
positions  secured.  The  creation  of  free  employment  offices  has  not 
appreciably  reduced  the  demand  for  the  services  of  private  agencies 
(although  statistics  are  not  available  and  the  proportionate  demand  for 
positions  has  of  course  increased).  It  would  be  difficult  to  determine 
to  what  extent,  if  any,  the  existence  of  the  free  offices  has  caused 
the  rendering  of  better  service  by  private  agencies. 

As  far  as  organization  is  concerned,  it  would  seem  that  a  more 
effective  scheme  may  be  devised.  The  free  employment  offices  are 
now  subject  to  the  commissioners  of  labor  and  the  secretary  of  the 
bureau  of  labor  statistics  in  the  following  matters:  (1)  The  super- 
intendent, assistant  superintendent,  and  clerk  of  each  office  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
upon  the  recommendation  of  the  commissioners  of  labor.  (2)  The 
original  location  of  each  office  is  determined  by  agreement  between 
the  superintendent  and  the  secretary  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics. 
(3)  Reports  must  be  made  bv  each  office  to  the  bureau  of  labor  sta- 
tistics, and  published  by  that  bureau.  (4)  The  bureau  of  labor  statis- 
tics may  require  the  free  employment  offices  to  collect  and  furnish  to 
it  certain  statistical  and  other  information. 

Aside  from  these  requirements,  each  office  is  independent,  not 
only  of  everv  other  office,  but  also  from  any  central  control.  Such 
a  situation  should  not  exist,  and  a  co-ordination  of  the  work  of  the 
several  offices  would  probably  result  in  more  efficient  service. 

The  superintendent  of  one  of  the  Chicago  offices  has  suggested 
that  the  superintendents  in  that  city  should  meet  to  discuss  ways  and 
means  of  increasing  the  efficiency  of  these  offices;  and  the  superin- 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


47 


tendent  of  the  Springfield  office  has  suggested  the  advisability  of  co- 
operation in  order  to  prevent  the  congestion  of  the  labor  market  in 
certain  localities.  Some  central  official  organization  would  correlate 
the  work  of  the  various  offices.  Under  the  present  organization  there 
has  been  little  if  any  effective  co-operation  among  the  several  offices. 

There  has  been  no  systematic  effort  through  the  free  employment 
offices  to  cope  with  the  unemployment  problem  as  a  whole.  The 
Chicago  Unemployment  Commission,  appointed  by  Mayor  Harrison, 
has  published  a  report  dealing  with  this  whole  problem.  A  resolution 
adopted  by  this  Commission  reads  as  follows : 

"1.  We  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  labor  exchange  so 
organized  as  to  assure:  (a)  adequate  funds  to  make  it  efficient  in  the 
highest  possible  degree ;  (b)  a  mode  of  appointment  of  the  salaried 
directors  which  will  protect  it  against  becoming  the  spoils  of  political 
factions  and  parties  ;  and  (c)  a  board  or  council  of  responsible  citizens, 
representing  employers,  employees  and  the  general  public,  to  direct  the 
general  policy  and  watch  over  the  efficiency  of  the  administration,  this 
board  or  council  having  the  power  to  employ  and  discharge  all  em- 
ployees subject  to  proper  regulations  of  the  civil  service  commission. 

"2.  We  recommend  that  the  Governor  and  legislature  be  re- 
quested at  the  next  session  of  the  legislature  to  amend  the  present  law 
relating  to  free  state  employment  bureaus  so  as  to  secure  a  central 
state  labor  exchange,  based  on  the  principles  just  stated." 

Professor  Ernst  Freund  has  drafted  a  bill  embodying  these  ideas. 
The  bill  drafted  by  Professor  Freund  and  another  bill  introduced  in 
1913  to  centralize  control  over  the  present  agencies,  are  published  in 
the  report  of  the  Chicago  Commission.  (Report  of  the  Mayor's 
Commission  on  Unemployment,  pp.  8-12).  The  text  of  a  proposed 
bill  may  also  be  found  in  the  third  report  of  the  New  York  Commission 
to  inquire  into  the  question  of  employers'  liability  and  other  matters. 
(1911). 

The  General  Assembly  at  its  1913  session  (Laws,-  1913,  p.  627) 
authorized  the  appointment  of  a  state  commission  to  investigate  the 
subject  of  unemployment  in  Illinois,  but  made  no  appropriation  for 
the  expenses  of  such  a  commission. 


48  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 


VI.  INDUSTRIAL  BOARD. 

The  first  workmen's  compensation  act  was  passed  in  1911,  and 
was  made  applicable  only  to  certain  designated  employments.  Its 
administrative  features  were  relatively  simple,  and  authority  was  vested 
in  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  to  handle  the  administrative  work. 
Elections  by  employer  or  employee  not  to  come  within  the  act  were 
filed  with  the  bureau ;  in  case  matters  between  employer  and  employee 
were  submitted  for  arbitration  the  third  arbitrator  was  selected  by  a 
court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  and  a  copy  o-f  the  award  was  filed  with 
the  bureau ;  employers  under  the  act  were  required  to  send  to  the 
bureau  reports  of  accidents  for  which  compensation  had  been  paid. 

The  administrative  features  of  the  act  of  1913  (which  replaced 
that  of  1911)  are  much  more  complete,  and  the  administration  of  this 
act  is  committed  to  a  special  body  known  as  the  industrial  board. 
The  industrial  board  consists  of  three  members  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  one  of 
whom  must  be  a  representative  of  the  employing  class  operating  under 
the  act,  and  one  of  whom  must  be  a  representative  chosen  from  among 
the  employees  operating  under  this  act,  and  one  of  whom  shall  be  a 
representative  citizen  not  identified  with  either  the  employing  or  em- 
ployed classes  and  who  shall  be  designated  by  the  Governor  as  chairman. 
The  term  of  the  members  of  this  board  is  fixed  at  six  years,  except 
that  when  first  constituted  one  member  serves  for  two  years,  one  for 
four  years  and  one  for  six  years.  Not  more  than  two  members  of  the 
board  may  belong  to  the  same  political  party.  The  salary  of  each 
member  is  fixed  at  $4,000  per  year.  The  board  is  given  power  to 
appoint  a  secretary  and  to  employ  such  assistants  and  clerical  help  as 
may  be  necessary. 

Notices  of  election  to  be  bound  or  not  to  be  bound  by  the  act  are 
to  be  filed  with  the  industrial  board.  An  agreement  or  award  under 
the  act,  providing  for  compensation  in  installments,  may  at  any  time 
within  eighteen  months  be  reviewed  by  the  industrial  board,  upon 
application  of  either  the  employer  or  the  employee. 

Where  an  employer  and  employee,  who  have  come  under  the  law, 
are  unable  to  agree,  a  committee  of  arbitration  is  constituted,  composed 
of  a  member  or  agent  of  the  board,  as  chairman,  and  representatives 
of  the  two  parties.  An  arbitration  award  is  subject  to  review  by  the 
industrial  board,  and  questions  of  law  involved  in  the  decision  of  the 
board  may  be  reviewed  by  the  Supreme  Court  if  application  be  made 
within  thirty  days  after' the  board's  decision. 

A  certified  copy  of  the  decision  upon  arbitration  proceedings  when 
rendered  is  filed  with  the  circuit  court  of  the  county  in  which  the 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


49 


accident  occurred,  whereupon  such  court  renders  judgment.  But  judg- 
ment cannot  be  entered  until  fifteen  days'  notice  of  the  time  and  place 
of  the  application  for  the  entry  of  judgment  shall  be  served  upon  the 
employer  by  filing  such  notice  with  the  industrial  board. 

The  board  is  given  power  to  make  rules  and  orders  for  carrying 
out  its  duties,  which  rules  and  orders  are  to  be  deemed  prima  facie 
reasonable  and  valid.  The  board  or  any  member  thereof  has  power 
to  administer  oaths,  issue  subpoenas,  and  examine  witnesses,  and  to 
examine  and  inspect  such  books,  papers,  and  records,  places  or  premises 
as  may  relate  to  questions  in  dispute. 

Section  twenty-three  of  the  act  provides  that  no  employee,  personal 
representative  or  beneficiary  shall  have  power  to  waive  any  provision 
of  this  act  in  regard  to  amount  of  compensation  except  after  approval 
of  the  industrial  board. 

An  employer  against  whom  liability  may  exist  for  compensation 
may  be  relieved  therefrom  by  purchasing  an  annuity  or  by  depositing, 
in  a  depository  approved  by  the  board,  the  commuted  value  of  the 
unpaid  compensation.  Upon  petition  a  lump  sum  compensation  may 
be  awarded  by  the  board  instead  of  periodical  payments. 

By  section  twenty-six  every  employer  who  elects  to  provide  and 
pay  the  compensation  provided  for  by  this  act  shall  within  ten  days  of 
the  receipt  of  a  written  demand  by  the  industrial  board  (1)  file  with 
the  board  a  sworn  statement  showing  his  financial  ability  to  pay  com- 
pensation normally  required  to  be  paid,  (2)  or  furnish  security  or  (3) 
insure  to  a  reasonable  amount  his  normal  liability  to  pay  such  com- 
pensation or  (4)  make  some  other  provisions  for  securing  payment  of 
compensation.  The  sworn  statement  of  financial  ability,  or  security, 
or  amount  of  insurance,  or  other  provision  is  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  board. 

Section  thirty  provides  that  every  employer  within  the  provisions 
of  the  act  shall  send  to  the  industrial  board  a  report  of  all  accidental 
injuries  for  which  compensation  has  been  paid.  Section  twenty  makes 
it  the  duty  of  the  industrial  board  to  report  in  writing  to  the  Governor 
on  the  thirtieth  of  June  annually  the  details  and  results  of  its  admin- 
istration of  the  act. 

The  industrial  board  has  been  in  existence  for  so  short  a  time  that 
little  can  be  said  as  to  its  manner  of  conducting  business.  Reference 
is  made  later  in  this  report  to  the  fact  that  in  accident  reporting  great 
difficulty  has  been  occasioned  by  the  creation  of  a  board  independent 
of  the  other  labor  offices.  The  administration  of  a  compensation  scheme 
should  be  closely  allied  with  the  work  of  accident  prevention,  and 
at  present  there  is  no  relation  whatever  in  Illinois.  From  the  stand- 
point of  accident  prevention,  it  would  be  well  to  have  a  compensation 
law  whose  burden  would  fall  more  heavily  upon  the  careless  than  upon 
the  careful  employer.  From  the  nature  of  the  compensation  board's 
work  there  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  the  administrative  details  can- 


50  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

not  be  handled  by  a  chief  of  bureau,  and  the  discretionary  functions 
by  a  board  which  should  perform  all  discretionary  duties  for  a  con- 
solidated department  of  labor. 

With  respect  to  one  matter  there  has  been  criticism  of  the  opera- 
tion of  the  compensation  law.  Some  employers  who  have  had  experi- 
ence under  it  complain  that  the  arbitration  boards  have  been  partial  to 
workmen  and  that  the  decisions  of  these  boards  are  almost  uniformly 
sustained  by  the  industrial  board. 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  51 


VII.  STATE  BOARD  OF  ARBITRATION. 

The  state  board  of  arbitration  was  created  by  an  act  approved 
August  2,  1895,  and  consists  of  three  members,  appointed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  The  members  are 
appointed  for  three  years,  and  the  terms  are  so  arranged  that  one 
member  retires  each  year.  Not  more  than  two  of  them  may  belong 
to  the  same  poHtical  party.  One  and  only  one  of  them  shall  be  an 
employer  of  labor ;  and  one  and  only  one  an  employee,  who  shall  be 
selected  from  some  labor  organization.  The  members  of  the  board 
each  receive  a  salary  of  $1,500  per  annum.  The  board  was  authorized 
by  the  act  of  1895,  as  amended  in  1903,  to  select  and  remove  a  secre- 
tary, who  is  required  to  be  a  stenographer,  and  who,  under  the  amend- 
ment of  1903,  receives  $2,500  per  annum.  The  secretary,  however, 
now  comes  under  the  terms  of  the  state  civil  service  act  of  1911. 

Under  the  act  of  1895,  as  amended  in  1899  and  1901,  the  board 
may  (1)  upon  application  made  by  an  employer  or  by  employees,  act 
as  a  board  of  arbitration  or  (2)  on  its  own  initiative,  it  may  attempt  to 
effect  an  amicable  settlement  of  labor  disputes,  or,  if  a  controversy  is 
one  in  which  the  general  public  is  likely  to  suffer  injury  or  inconven- 
ience, the  board  may,  in  absence  of  application  by  either  party,  investi- 
gate the  facts  and  make  public  its  findings  and  recommendations. 

Arbitration.  Upon  application  of  an  employer  or  a  majority  of 
his  employees  in  the  department  of  business  in  which  a  controversy 
exists,  the  board  is  required  to  undertake  a  settlement  by  arbitration, 
provided  the  controversy  does  not  involve  questions  which  may  be  the 
subject  of  an  action  at  law  or  a  bill  in  equity.  The  application  must 
contain  a  concise  statement  of  the  grievance  complained  of,  and  an 
agreement  to  continue  in  business  or  at  work  without  strike  or  lockout 
until  the  decision  of  the  board,  provided  a  decision  is  made  within 
three  weeks  after  the  filing  of  the  application.  The  act  of  1895  pro- 
vided that  such  application  could  be  made  only  in  case  the  employer 
involved  employed  not  less  than  twenty-five  men,  but  in  1899  an  amend- 
ment permitted  the  union  of  employers  or  employees  to  make  the 
number  twenty-five,  even  though  that  number  was  not  employed  by 
the  same  employer,  provided  the  employers  were  engaged  in  the  same 
general  line  of  business  and  the  controversy  involved  a  common  dif- 
ference between  such  employers  and  employees. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  such  an  application  the  board  is  required  to 
give  public  notice  of  the  time  and  place  of  hearings  thereon,  but  such 
public  notice  may  be  dispensed  with  -should  both  parties  to  the  con- 
troversy join  in  the  application  and  request  in  writing  that  public  notice 


52  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

be  not  e^iven.  The  board  is  required  to  visit  the  locality  of  the  dispute 
and  make  a  careful  investigation  of  the  controversy,  hearing  all  per- 
sons interested  who  may  come  before  them,  and  advising  the  parties 
what  ought  to  be  done  to  adjust  the  dispute.  Under  the  act  of  1895 
the  board  was  given  authority  to  summon  witnesses  and  administer 
oaths,  and  to  compel  the  production  of  certain  papers,  but  not  until 
1899  was  it  really  empowered  to  compel  testimony  by  means  of  an 
application  to  the  County  or  Circuit  Court,  and  to  require  the  produc- 
tion of  all  relevant  books  and  papers. 

The  board  is  required  to  make  a  written  decision  of  a  controversy 
submitted  to  it  as  above,  and  the  decision  is  open  to  public  inspection. 
The  decision  is  binding  upon  the  parties  who  joined  in  the  application 
"for  six  months  or  until  either  party  has  given  the  other  notice  in 
writing  of  his  or  their  intention  not  to  be  bound  by  the  same  at  the 
expiration  of  sixty  days  therefrom."  An  amendment  of  1899  provided 
that  any  person  aggrieved  by  a  failure  to  abide  by  a  decision  miffht 
apply  to  the  Circuit  or  County  Court  to  have  the  violator  punished  for 
contempt,  but  such  punishment  was  not  to  extend  to  imprisonment. 
These  provisions  applv  only  where  both  parties  to  the  controversy  have 
agreed  to  arbitrate.  Otherwise  the  board  has  power  only  to  advise  or 
recommend. 

Conciliation  and  Investigation.  The  board  is  required  when  there 
comes  to  its  knowledge  a  threatened  strike  or  lockout  involving  an 
employer  of  not  less  than  twenty-five  persons,  to  put  itself  into  com- 
munication as  soon  as  possible  with  the  employer  or  employees,  "and 
endeavor  by  mediation  to  effect  an  amicable  settlement  between  them. 
or  to  endeavor  to  persuade  them  to  submit  the  matter  in  dispute  to  the 
state  board.'* 

In  1901  a  wide  power  was  conferred  upon  the  board  in  certain 
cases  to  investigate  labor  controversies  as  to  which  efforts  at  both 
conciliation  and  arbitration  had  failed.  This  provision  of  law  is  of 
sufficient  importance  to  be  quoted  in  full :  "Whenever  there  shall  exist 
a  strike  or  a  lockout  wherein,  in  the  judgment  of  the  majority  of  said 
board,  the  general  public  shall  appear  likely  to  suffer  injury  or  incon- 
venience with  respect  to  food,  fuel,  or  light,  or  the  means  of  com- 
munication or  transportation,  or  in  any  other  respect,  and  neither  party 
to  such  strike  or  lockout  shall  consent  to  submit  the  matter  or  matters 
in  controversy  to  the  state  board  of  arbitration  in  conformity  with 
this  act,  then  the  said  board,  after  first  having  made  due  effort  to  effect 
a  settlement  thereof  by  conciliatory  means,  and  such  effort  having 
failed,  may  proceed  of  its  own  motion  to  make  an  investigation  of  all 
facts  bearing  upon  such  strike  or  lockout,  and  make  public  its  findings, 
with  such  recommendations  to  the  parties  involved  as  in  its  judgment 
will  contribute  to  a  fair  and  equitable  settlement  of  the  differences 
which  constitute  the  cause  of  the  strike  or  lockout ;  and  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  such  inquiry  the  board  shall  have  the  power  to  issue  subpoenas 
and  compel  the  attendance  and  testimony  of  witnesses  as  in  other 
cases." 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  53 

To  1910  no  use  had  been  made  of  the  powers  conferred  by  the 
amendment  of  1901,  and  the  same  statement  is  probably  true  for  the 
period  since  1910. 

Activities  of  the  Board  of  Arbitration. 

The  law  goes  as  far  as  it  well  may  in  requiring  the  board  to  use 
its  best  efforts  in  securing  a  peaceful  settlement  of  every  labor  dispute 
which  arises  in  the  state,  whether  the  board  is  called  upon  or  not  by 
the  parties  to  such  dispute.  Under  the  act  as  originally  passed  diffi- 
culty was  experienced  in  gaining  information  of  the  existence  of  strikes. 
Partially  to  remedy  this  an  amendment  was  added  in  1899,  making  it 
the  duty  of  the  mayor  of  every  city,  the  president  of  the  council  of 
every  incorporated  town  or  village,  and  the  chief  executive  officer  of 
every  labor  organization,  whenever  a  strike  or  lockout  involving  more 
than  twenty-five  employees  is  threatened,  immediately  to  communicate 
this  fact  to  the  state  board  of  arbitration. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  board  do  not  present  any  formal  sta- 
tistics of  cases  handled,  and  it  is  difficult  to  determine  to  what  extent 
the  efforts  of  the  board  have  met  with  success.  The  reports  do  show 
a  greater  use  of  its  powers  of  conciliation  than  of  those  of  arbitration. 
In  the  report  of  1901  is  reprinted  the  testimony  of  J.  McCan  Davis, 
then  secretary  of  the  board,  before  the  United  States  Industrial  Com- 
mission. This  testimony  indicated  that  in  the  four  years  from  1895 
to  1898,  43  cases  were  acted  upon  by  the  board,  of  which  seven  were 
arbitrations  on  the  joint  petition  of  the  parties,  thirty-three  were  cases 
of  mediation ;  twenty-two  of  the  cases  were  satisfactorily  settled.  In 
more  than  half  of  all  the  cases  presented,  action  was  initiated  by  the 
board. 

In  recent  years  the  board  seems  not  to  have  been  as  active  as  in  the 
beginning.  The  policy  of  the  board,  as  stated  in  its  1910  report  (the 
latest  report  in  print)  is  to  allow  the  disputants  to  settle  between  them- 
selves, wherever  that  appeared  possible,  as  it  believes  that  better  results 
are  obtainable  in  that  way,  while  at  the  same  time  it  has  stood  by  ready 
to  intervene  at  the  opportune  moment.  An  examination  of  its  reports 
shows  that  the  board  has  in  the  main  "stood  by"  and  looked  on.  The 
1910  report  shows  consideration  by  it  of  five  labor  controversies,  of 
which  one  was  settled  by  the  arbitration  of  the  board.  In  three  cases 
offers  by  the  board  resulted  in  no  action,  and  in  the  fourth  the  board 
united  with  boards  from  other  states  in  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  bring 
about  a  settlement.  The  reports  of  the  board  are  devoted  in  the  main 
to  statements  regarding  labor  controversies  settled  without  its  assist- 
ance, and  give  no  satisfactory  account  of  all  labor  disputes  in  the  state 
during  the  year.  There  is  no  indication  as  to  whether  strikes  and 
lockouts  were  actually  reported  to  the  board  by  municipal  officers  and 
labor  organizations,  as  required  by  statute. 

The  Board  of  Arbitration  was  established  after  the  great  railway 
strike  of  1894,  in  response  to  a  popular  demand  that  something  should 
be  done.  During  a  good  part  of  the  time  since  its  creation,  the  board 
has  been  quiescent,  and  has  done  little  good  or  harm  in  the  field  marked 


54  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

out  for  it  by  the  law.  All  the  activities  of  the  board  indicated  in  its 
1910  report  could  not  have  required  more  than  a  few  weeks'  work  upon 
the  part  of  the  members  and  the  secretary.  Since  1910  the  board  has 
issued  no  printed  report,  and  for  a  good  part  of  the  time  within  recent 
years  its  membership  has  not  been  complete.  Beginning  with  March 
15,  1914,  the  board  has  transmitted  written  monthly  reports  to  the 
Governor  but  an  examination  of  these  reports  covering  the  period  from 
January  to  August,  1914,  indicates  that  no  work  of  value  has  been  done. 
The  duties  of  this  board  could  well  be  transferred  to  some  other  body. 
The  arbitration  law  should  at  the  same  time  be  so  amended  as  to  pro- 
vide for  the  creation  of  special  boards  to  arbitrate  particular  labor 
disputes.  In  many  cases  a  specially  created  board  would  prove  more 
effective  that  a  permanent  board  of  arbitration.  There  should  also  be 
an  express  provision  for  the  rendering  of  aid  to  employers  and  em- 
ployees who  desire  to  enter  into  arbitration  agreements. 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  55 


VIII.     MINING  AUTHORITIES 
State  Mining  Board  and  Mine  Inspectors. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  minor  statutes  the  first  general  law 
providing  for  the  health  and  safety  of  persons  employed  in  mines 
in  Illinois  was  passed  in  1872.  By  this  act,  which  applied  to  mines  in 
which  more  than  ten  men  were  employed,  county  surveyors  were 
constituted  ex-ofificio  inspectors  of  mines.  The  general  subjects  of 
ventilation,  escapement  shafts,  bore  holes,  signalling,  hoisting,  explo- 
sions, and  accidents  were  covered,  and  the  several  inspectors  were 
charged  with  the  duty  of  making  inspections,  enforcing  the  act,  and 
reporting  the  general  results  of  their  inspections  annually  to  the  Gov- 
ernor. An  amendment  of  1877,  in  addition  to  minor  changes,  repealed 
the  provision  of  the  act  of  1872  which  made  county  surveyors  ex-officio 
inspectors  of  mines,  and  vested  the  administration  of  the  act  in  county 
mine  inspectors  to  be  appointed  by  the  several  county  boards.  No 
reporting  was  expressly  required  by  the  amendment.  A  general  revision 
of  the  mining  act  followed  in  1879  which  enlarged  its  scope,  but  left 
the  administrative  features  practically  the  same.  Mine  inspectors  were 
required  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  Governor. 

Amendments  of  1883  further  perfected  the  system  of  mine  inspec- 
tion by  requiring  that  additional  safeguards  be  taken  in  mines  and 
by  introducing  important  changes  in  the  administration  of  the  act.  The 
minimum  age  at  whch  children  were  allowed  to  work  in  mines  was 
changed  from  12  years  to  14  years.  The  act  was  made  to  apply  to  all 
mines.  The  appointment  of  a  board  of  examiners  by  the  commissioners 
of  labor  was  authorized,  the  board  to  consist  of  two  practical  coal 
miners,  two  coal  operators,  and  one  mining  engineer.  The  state  was 
divided  into  five  inspection  districts.  The  Governor,  upon  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  board  of  examiners,  was  empowered  to  appoint  five 
inspectors  who  were  to  devote  their  whole  time  to  the  inspection  of 
mines  and  the  enforcement  of  the  act.  The  policy  of  inspection  of 
mines  by  county  inspectors  was  abandoned,  but  county  boards  were 
authorized  to  appoint  assistant  inspectors.  Qualifications  for  inspectors 
were  greatly  increased.  A  knowledge  of  mine  engineering  was  required 
and  ten  years'  practical  experience  in  mining.  Annual  reports  of 
inspectors  instead  of  going  to  the  Governor  were  to  be  sent  to  the 
bureau  of  labor  statistics.  The  term  of  ofifice  of  inspectors  was  fixed 
at  one  year  and  the  salary  at  $1,800.  The  commissioners  of  labor  were 
given  power  to  remove  inspectors  for  cause. 

An  amendment  of  1885  increased  the  term  of  office  of  inspectors 
from  one  to  five  years.  Further  amendments  were  made  at  almost 
every  biennial  session  of  the  General  Assembly ;  and  in  1899  a  complete 


56  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

revision  ot  mining  legislation  was  eii'ected.  Under  the  legislation  of 
1899,  the  subordination  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  continued  and 
the  board  of  examiners  was  styled  the  state  mining  board.  The  powers 
of  the  state  mining  board,  however,  were  considerably  enlarged  in 
1899,  and  by  an  amendment  of  1907  it  was  provided  that  this  board 
should  be  appointed  by  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of 
the  Senate.  In  1911  a  complete  revision  of  the  mining  act  occurred. 
Following  is  an  analysis  of  the  mining  act  of  1911  with  its  amendments 
of  1913. 

The  enforcement  of  the  act  is  committed  to  the  state  mining  board 
and  under  it  to  twelve  state  mine  inspectors.  The  act  imposes  specific 
duties  upon  all  mine  operators,  with  penalties  for  violation,  requiring 
that  every  mine  manager,  hoisting  engineer  and  mine  examiner  shall 
possess  a  certificate  of  competency  from  the  state  mining  board.  The 
nature  of  the  examinations,  in  order  to  obtain  these  certificates,  is  laid 
down  in  the  act,  and  the  board  is  authorized  upon  notice  and  hearing 
to  cancel  such  certificates.  The  employment  of  any  mine  manager, 
mine  examiner,  or  hoisting  engineer  who  does  not  possess  a  certificate 
is  forbidden.  Inspections  of  every  mine  in  the  state  are  required  to 
be  made  at  certain  intervals  by  state  mine  inspectors,  who  must  be 
duly  certified  as  competent  by  the  state  mining  board,  and  the  state 
mining  board  is  made  the  general  administrative  authority  through 
which  the  object  of  the  act  is  to  be  carried  out. 

The  act  goes  into  great  detail  in  laying  down  specific  requirements 
as  to  conditions  which  must  be  maintained  in  mines.  These  require- 
ments deal  with  the  sinking  of  shafts,  hoisting  equipment,  places  of 
egress,  stairways  and  cages,  passageways,  gates,  light,  signals,  gauges, 
safety  valves,  boilers,  obstructions,  buildings  on  surface,  oils  and  ex- 
plosives, engine  boiler-houses,  speed  of  cages,  safety  lamps,  ventila- 
tion, refuge  places,  hauling  roads,  cars,  voltage,  wires,  dead  holes, 
shots,  tools,  tamping,  etc.  General  penalties  are  provided  for  violations. 
The  Governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate, 
is  given  power  to  appoint  the  state  mining  board.  It  is  composed  of 
five  members,  two  of  whom  must  be  practicing  coal  miners,  one  a 
practicing  coal  mine  hoisting  engineer,  and  two  coal  operators.  One  of 
the  coal  operators  is  to  be  elected  president  and  one  of  the  coal  miners 
secretary.  Their  term  of  office  is  for  two  years  at  a  salary  of  $5.00 
per  day  for  a  term  of  not  more  than  one  hundred  days  in  any  one  year. 
The  board  is  given  power  to  appoint  a  chief  clerk,  at  a  salary  of  $2,000 
per  year  and  they  may  employ  such  other  persons  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  proper  discharge  of  their  duties.  The  chief  clerk  comes  under 
the  state  civil  service  law. 

The  board  is  given  power  to  prescribe  standing  and  other  rules 
for  the  control  and  direction  of  its  officers  and  employes  and  of  the 
state  mine  inspectors.  It  is  also  the  duty  of  the  board  to  collect  statis- 
tical details  relating  to  coal  mining  in  the  state  and  to  publish  such 
information  yearly  as  a  report  to  be  known  as  the  Annual  Coal  Report. 
Before  1911  the  Annual  Coal  Report  was  prepared  by  the  bureau  of 
labor  statistics.  The  state  is  divided  into  twelve  inspection  districts 
by  the  state  mining  board. 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


57 


The  board  is  required,  by  examinations,  to  make  formal  inquiry 
into  and  to  pass  upon  the  practical,  technological  and  personal  fit- 
ness of  men  seeking  appointment  as  state  mine  inspectors,  mine  mana- 
gers, hoisting  engineers  and  mine  examiners.  Before  an  applicant  is 
permitted  to  take  any  examination,  he  is  required  to  register  his  name 
with  the  state  mining  board,  and  file  with  it  an  affidavit  as  to  all  matters 
of  fact  establishing  his  right  to  take  such  examination,  and  a  certificate 
of  good  character  and  temperate  habits  signed  by  at  least  ten  residents 
of  the  community  in  which  he  resides. 

Persons  applying  to  the  state  mining  board  as  candidates  for 
appointment  as  state  inspectors  of  mines  must  produce  evidence  satis- 
factory to  the  board  that  they  are  citizens  of  the  state,  at  least  thirty 
years  of  age,  that  they  have  had  a  practical  mining  experience  of  ten 
years,  and  that  they  are  men  of  good  repute  and  temperate  habits. 
They  must  pass  an  examination  as  to  their  practical  and  technical 
knowledge  of  mine  surveying  and  mining  machinery  and  appliances, 
of  the  proper  development  and  operation  of  coal  mines,  of  ventilation 
of  mines,  of  the  nature  and  properties  of  mine  gases,  of  first  aid  to 
injured,  of  mine  rescue  methods  and  appliances,  of  the  geology  of  the 
coal  measures  in  this  state,  and  of  the  laws  of  this  state  relating  toi 
coal  mines.  From  those  who  pass  said  examination,  the  Governor 
appoints  twelve  state  inspectors,  to  serve  for  a  period  of  two  years 
unless  sooner  removed  by  the  state  mining  board  for  cause.  Any  inspec- 
tor in  actual  service  who  has  passed  one  examination  under  this  act  may 
be  reappointed  without  further  certification  but  may  not  be  so  reap- 
pointed more  than  three  times.  The  salary  of  inspectors  is  fixed  at 
eighteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  and  they  are  allowed  all  neces- 
sary traveling  expenses.  A  bond  of  five  thousand  dollars  is  required 
of  each  inspector.  No  one  is  eligible  for  such  a  position  if  he  has  any 
pecuniary  interest  in  any  coal  mine  in  Illinois. 

For  a  while  the  state  mine  inspectors  were  under  the  civil  service 
law  (as  amended  in  1911),  but  under  a  ruling  of  the  present  Attorney- 
General  they  are  exempt.  Since  this  ruling  the  entire  personnel  of  the 
state  mine  inspecting  force  has  changed. 

Each  state  mine  inspector,  if  in  his  judgment  the  work  in  his 
district  requires  the  services  of  an  assistant,  is  given  authority  to  call 
upon  county  boards  to  appoint  some  person  as  such  assistant,  (to  be 
paid  out  of  the  county  treasury  at  a  rate  of  not  less  than  $3.00  per 
day).  Each  assistant  thus  appointed  must  be  the  holder  of  a  certificate 
of  competency  as  a  mine  manager.  Each  state  inspector  is  permitted  to 
authorize  (in  writing)  the  county  inspector  to  assume  and  discharge  all 
the  duties  and  exercise  all  the  powers  of  the  state  inspector.  The  bond 
of  the  state  mine  inspector  may  be  held  for  the  faithful  performance 
of  duty  by  such  assistant  inspectors. 

Each  state  inspector  is  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  duties 
of  his  office,  and  his  duties  consist  chiefly  in  making  personal  inspec- 
tions of  all  mines  in  his  district.  Under  the  act  of  1911,  the  state 
inspectors  were  required  to  make  personal  examination  at  least  once 
in  every  six  months  of  each  mine  in  their  district,  in  which  marsh 
gas  had  been  detected  in  quantities  which  the  state  mining  board 


58  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

thought  dangerous.  The  state  mining  board,  however,  could  require 
state  inspectors  personally  to  examine  any  or  all  other  mines  in  their 
respective  districts  and  the  state  mining  board  could  assign  inspectors 
to  examine  mines  which  had  not  been  classified  as  generating  marsh 
gas  in  dangerous  quantities.  The  act  also  required  that  every  mine 
in  the  state  should  be  examined  at  least  once  in  every  six  months.  Some 
changes  were  made  in  these  requirements  by  amendments  of  1913.  The 
act  of  1911  contemplated  chiefly  the  personal  inspection  by  the  state 
inspector  of  mines  in  which  gas  was  being  generated.  The  amendment 
of  1913  strikes  out  this  limitation  and  expressly  requires  state  inspec- 
tors to  make  personal  examinations  at  least  once  in  every  six  months 
or  oftener  if  necessary  of  every  mine  in  their  districts  in  which  ten  or 
more  men  are  employed.  The  provision  allowing  the  state  mining 
board  to  require  state  inspectors  personally  to  examine  any  or  all  other 
mines  in  their  respective  districts  remain  the  same.' 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  state  mine  inspectors  to  see  to  it  that  the  re- 
quirements of  the  act  are  in  all  cases  complied  with  and  that  every 
necessary  precaution  be  taken  to  insure  the  health  and  safety  of  work- 
men. After  an  examination  has  been  conducted  a  notice  is  to  be  posted 
by  the  state  inspector  in  some  conspicuous  place  at  the  top  of  the  mine, 
which  notice  shall  contain  a  plain  statement  showing  what,  in  the 
inspector's  judgment,  is  necessary  for  the  better  protection  of  the  lives 
and  health  of  persons  employed  in  such  mine.  In  case  any  violation  is 
discovered,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  inspector  to  enforce  the  penalties 
provided  therefor.  In  addition  to  the  regular  inspection  the  state 
inspector  must  make  a  personal  investigation  as  to  the  nature  and  cause 
of  all  serious  accidents  which  occur  in  mines  within  his  jurisdiction. 
Each  inspector  is  ex-ofificio  a  sealer  of  weights  and  measures  with 
power  (and  upon  request,  with  the  duty)  to  inspect  scales  used  at 
mines.  Upon  operators  paying  by  weight  for  mining  is  imposed  the 
duty   of   providing  accurate   scales. 

Each  state  inspector  is  required  to  render  to  the  state  mining 
board  a  written  report  of  each  mine  inspected,  the  form  of  the  report 
to  be  fixed  by  the  board  itself.  In  addition  to  this  report  each  inspector 
is  required,  within  sixty  days  after  June  30th,  to  prepare  and  forward 
to  the  state  mining  board  a  formal  report  of  his  acts  during  the  year 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  together  with  any  recommendations 
which  he  may  have.  Each  inspector  is  required  to  collect  and  tabulate 
upon  blanks  furnished  by  the  state  mining  board  all  desired  statistics 
of  mines  and  mining.    . 

Upon  a  petition  signed  by  not  less  than  three  coal  operators  or 
ten  coal  miners  setting  forth  that  any  state  inspector  of  mines  neglects 
his  duties,  or  that  he  is  incompetent,  or  that  he  is  guilty  of  malfeasance 
in  ofifice,  or  guilty  of  any  act  tending  to  the  unlawful  injury  of  miners 
or  operators  of  mines,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  mining  board  to! 
issue  a  citation  to  the  said  inspector  to  appear  before  it  within  a  period 
of  fifteen  days  on  a  day  fixed  for  hearing,  when  the  board  shall  investi- 

'Numerous  other  changes  were  introduced  into  the  act  by  revision  of  1913,  dealing  with 
conditions  which  should  be  maintained  in  mines.  No  other  change  of  importance  affecting 
the  administration  of  the  act  was  made  by  this  revision. 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


59 


gate  the  allegations  of  the  petition  and  if  the  board  shall  find  that 
the  inspector  is  neglectful  of  his  duty  or  that  he  is  guilty  of  malfeasance 
in  office  or  guilty  of  any  act  tending  to  the  injury  of  miners  or  operators 
of  mines,  the  board  shall  declare  the  office  of  said  inspector  vacant,  and 
a  properly  qualified  person  shall  be  duly  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 
The  state  mining  board  has  power  to  direct  the  state  mine  in-» 
spectors  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  and  "shall  have  power  and 
shall  in  person  and  through  the  state  mine  inspectors  see  that  all  the 
provisions  of  the  state  mining  law  are  enforced."  But  each  inspector 
is  left  practically  independent  as  to  the  enforcement  of  the  law  within 
his  district,  subject  to  the  requirement  that  he  report  to  the  board,  and 
subject  also  to  the  possibility  that  the  board  may  order  him  to  make 
specific  inspections.  No  chief  inspector  has  ever  been  provided,  and 
there  has  been  little  co-ordination  of  the  inspection  work  in  the  several 
districts. 

The  act  also  imposes  specific  duties  upon  all  mine  operators  and 
upon  all  mine  managers,  mine  examiners  and  hoisting  engineers.  In 
addition  to  the  requirement  that  all  mine  managers,  mine  examiners, 
and  hoisting  engineers  shall  hold  certificates  of  competency  from  the 
state  mining  board,  specific  duties  -and  restrictions  are  placed  upon 
each. 

Each  operator  is  required  to  furnish  annually  to  the  state  mine 
inspector  of  his  district,  on  blanks  furnished  by  him,  statistics  of  wages 
and  conditions  of  employees,  said  report  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  state 
board  within  thirty  days  after  June  30th.  A  penalty  of  one  hundred 
dollars  is  fixed  for  violation  of  this  provision.  Each  operator  must 
keep  accurate  maps  of  mines,  survey  maps,  maps  of  seams,  etc.,  and 
must  make  an  annual  survey,  and  furnish  a  copy  of  all  survey  maps 
to  the  state  inspector.  All  illuminating  oil  ?.nd  other  illuminants  used 
in  coal  mines  are  required  to  conform  to  specifications  prescribed  by 
the  state  mining  board.  When  any  loss  of  life  or  personal  injury 
occurs  in  or  about  a  mine  the  operator  must  report  such  fact  without 
delay  to  the  state  mine  inspector. 

An  act  of  1910,  amended  in  1911  and  1913,  deals  with  the  subject 
of  fire  fighting  equiphient  in  coal  mines,  and  imposes  the  obligation  upon 
all  persons  operating  coal  mines  to  observe  certain  specified  precautions 
for  the  prevention  and  controlling  of  fires  and  prevention  of  loss  of 
life  from  fires  in  coal  mines.  The  act  contains  provisions  relating  to 
water  supply,  pipe  and  hose  connections,  automatic  sprinklers,  fire 
extinguishers,  water  pipes,  underground  stables,  telephones,  passage- 
ways, etc.  Penalties  are  provided  for  violations.  The  act  makes  it  the 
duty  of  any  state  mine  inspector  or  any  county  inspector,  if  he  shall 
find  that  any  provision  of  the  act  has  been  violated,  to  file  a  sworn 
complaint  before  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  asking  that 
the  violator  be  bound  over  to  the  next  grand  jury,  and  the  state's 
attorney  is  required  to  prosecute.  Each  county  mine  inspector  is  re- 
quired to  report  at  least  once  each  month  to  the  state  mine  inspector, 
stating  the  mines  he  has  examined,  the  violations  discovered,  and  com- 
plaints filed.  If  state  mine  inspectors  or  county  mine  inspectors  neglect 
or  refuse  to  file  such  complaints  any  person  may  file  a  complaint  against 


60  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

such  inspector  charging  nonfeasance  in  office,  and  the  state's  attorney 
is  required  to  prosecute.  If  convicted  said  inspector  is  disquaHfied 
from  holding  such  office,  and  is  not  entitled  to  receive  another  certificate 
of  competency  within  three  months  from  date  of  conviction.  It  is  also 
provided  that  when  any  mine  manager  or  any  miner  has  been  convicted 
of  violating  the  provision  of  the  act,  the  state  mining  board  or  the  min- 
ers' examining  board,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  cancel  and  revoke  his 
certificate  of  competency  and  such  person  shall  not  be  entitled  to  receive 
another  certificate  for  three  months. 

Further  to  promote  the  safety  of  persons  and  property  in  coal 
mines,  an  act  of  1913  relating  to  explosives  provides  that  all  permis- 
sible explosives  for  use  in  blasting  coal  in  the  State  of  Illinois  shall  con- 
form to  certain  specifications  which  have  been  fixed  by  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Mines.  State  mine  inspectors,  county  mine  inspectors 
and  accredited  representatives  of  coal  operators  or  coal  miners  are 
given  authority  to  sample  permissible  explosives,  or  to  have  the  same 
sent  to  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Mines  for  that  purpose.  All 
explosives  must  be  kept  in  magazines  constructed  in  accordance  with 
plans  that  are  approved  by  the  state  mine  inspector.  General  penalties 
are  provided  for  violations. 

An  act  of  1911  relating  to  blasting  powder  contains  specifications 
for  black  blasting  powder  which  may  be  used  in  coal  mines,  provides 
rules  for  stamping  kegs,  defines  offenses  and  fixes  penalties.  It  is 
further  provided  that  state  mine  inspectors  and  deputy  mine  inspectors 
shall  have  authority  to  sample  black  blasting  powder  used  for  blast- 
ing purposes  in  coal  mines  in  this  state  or  kept  for  sale  for  such  a' 
purpose.  Inspectors  may  have  such  powder  tested  by  the  state  mining 
board. 

An  act  relating  to  oil  or  gas  wells  adopted  in  1905,  amended  in 
1911,  has  to  do  generally  with  the  sinking,  filling  and  operating  of  gas 
and  oil  wells,  and  provides  penalties.  It  is  made  the  duty  of  any  person 
having  custody  or  control  of  any  well  drilled  for  gas  or  oil  and  of  the 
owner  of  the  land  in  which  such  well  is  drilled,  when  the  drill  hole 
penetrates  a  coal  seam,  to  file  in  the  office  of  the  recorder  of  the; 
county  and  in  the  office  of  the  state  mining  board  a  statement  and  map, 
giving  the  location  and  depth  of  every  well  so  drilled. 

The  shot  firers  act  of  1907,  as  amended  in  1913,  requires  all  mine 
owners  to  furnish  shot  firers  for  mines,  specifies  the  duty  of  shot  firers 
and  lays  down  rules  for  firing  of  shots  and  fixes  penalties  for  violation. 
The  enforcement  of  the  act  is  committed  to  the  state's  attorney,  and 
no  duties  under  it  are  imposed  upon  the  state  mining  board. 

Miners'  Examining  Board. 

In  1897  an  act  was  passed  requiring  every  person  desiring  to  work 
by  himself  in  a  coal  mine  to  present  evidence  to  the  mine  manager  of 
the  mine  at  which  he  was  employed  that  he  had  worked  at  least  two 
years  with,  or  as,  a  practical  miner.  In  1908  an  act  was  passed 
(amended  in  1909)  providing  for  the  creation  of  a  miners'  examining 
board  in  each  county  in  which  coal  mining  was  carried  on.  These 
boards,  composed   of   three   members   each,   were  appointed   by  the 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


61 


county  judges,  and  were  authorized  to  issue  certificates  after  examina- 
tion to  those  desiring  to  work  as  miners.  In  1913  the  county  boards 
were  abolished  and  a  single  state  board  having  the  same  general  powers 
and  duties  was  created. 

The  state  miners'  examining  board  consists  of  three  persons, 
appointed  by  the  Governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Senate,  for  a  term  of  three  years,  each  with  a  salary  of  $1,500  per  year. 
Each  examiner  must  have  at  least  five  years  practical  and  continuous 
experience  as  a  coal  miner,  and  must  have  been  actually  engaged  in 
coal  mining  as  a  miner  in  this  state  continuously  for  twelve  months 
next  preceding  his  appointment.  The  Governor  may  remove  any 
member  for  neglect  of  duty,  incompetency  or  malfeasance  in  office. 

The  duty  of  the  board  is  to  hold  an  examination,  one  in  each 
calendar  month  in  at  least  twelve  places  located  most  conveniently 
with  reference  to  the  districts  in  which  coal  is  mined,  for  all  persons 
in  such  districts  who  wish  to  engage  in  mining.  The  examination  is 
to  be  of  a  practical  nature  so  as  to  determine  the  competency  and  quali- 
fication of  the  applicant  to  engage  in  the  business  of  mining. 

Each  applicant  is  charged  a  fee  of  $2.00,  this  fee  to  be  paid  by 
the  board  to  the  State  Treasurer,  once  each  month,  together  with  a 
report  showing  where  and  from  whom  each  fee  was  collected.  The 
board  is  empowered  to  grant  certificates  of  competency,  upon  the 
applicant's  producing  evidence  of  having  had  not  less  than  two  years 
practical  experience  as  a  miner  or  with  a  miner  and  upon  his  passing 
the  required  examination.  This  act  provides  that  no  person  shall 
hereafter  be  employed  as  a  miner  in  any  coal  mine  unless  he  holds  a 
certificate  from  the  Miners'  examining  board.  The  act  provides,  how- 
ever, that  a  certificated  miner  may  have  one  person  without  a  certificate 
working  with  him  as  an  apprentice. 

It  is  made  the  duty  of  the  board  to  report  all  complaints  and  all 
violations  to  the  state's  attorney  of  the  proper  county,  such  officer 
being  under  obligation  to  prosecute  all  persons  so  offending. 

The  board  has  no  official  connection  with  the  state  mining  board. 
It  makes  an  annual  report  on  the  first  day  of  March,  to  the  Governor, 
of  examinations  held  by  it  and  work  done  by  it  during  the  preceding 
year,  together  with  such  recommendations  as  it  may  deem  advisable. 

Mine  Fire  Fighting  and  Rescue  Stations. 

For  the  purpose  of  providing  prompt  and  efficient  means  of  fight- 
ing mine  fires  and  of  saving  lives  and  property  jeopardized  by  fires, 
explosions  or  other  accidents,  the  general  assembly  in  1910  authorized 
the  establishment  of  three  rescue  stations  to  serve  the  northern,  the  cen- 
tral and  the  southern  coal  fields  of  the  state.  The  rescue  stations  thus 
established  were  to  be  under  the  direction  and  management  of  a  special 
commission  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  commission  consists  of 
seven  members  including  two  coal  mine  operators,  two  coal  miners,  one 
state  mine  inspector,  one  representative  of  the  department  of  mining 
at  the  University  of  Illinois,  and  one  representative  of  the  Federal 


62  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

Bureau  of  Mines.  For  service  rendered  they  receive  compensation  at 
the  rate  of  ten  dollars  per  day,  not  to  exceed  twenty-five  days  during 
any  one  year. 

The  commission  was  empowered  to  appoint  as  manager  of  the 
three  stations  a  man  experienced  in  mining  and  mine  engineering  and 
the  manager  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  commission 
was  authorized  to  appoint  for  each  station  a  superintendent  and  an 
assistant,  each  to  serve  for  two  years.  These  officers  now  come  under 
the  civil  service  amendment  act  of  1911.  The  manager  receives  $250 
per  month,  the  superintendents  $125  per  month  and  the  assistants,  who 
under  the  act  of  1910  received  $75  per  month,  by  amendment  of  1913, 
receive  a  salary  of  $100  per  month.  But  apparently  the  increased 
salary  is  not  being  paid.  Only  one  extra  assistant  and  one  porter  could 
be  employed  for  each  rescue  car,  until  by  amendment  of  1913  two  extra 
assistants  were  allowed. 

The  act  makes  it  the  duty  of  the  manager,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  commission,  to  supervise  the  work  at  each  station,  and  to  file, 
at  the  end  of  each  quarter  a  complete  report  of  all  operations  and 
expenditures.  He  must  provide  that  some  representative  be  on  duty 
at  each  station  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night. 

Whenever  the  manager  or  the  superintendent  is  notified  of  any 
accident  or  explosion  requiring  his  services,  it  is  his  duty  to  go  im- 
mediately and  superintend  the  rescue  work,  co-operating  with  the 
management  of  the  mine  and  (an  amendment  of  1913  adds)  with 
the  state  mine  inspector. 

The  commission  is  required  to  prepare  a  biennial  report  showing 
the  work  performed.  An  amendment  of  1913  provides  that  the  com- 
mission shall  be  given  suitable  rooms  in  the  state  house. 

Miners'  and  Mechanics'  Institutes. 

To  prevent  accidents  in  mines  and  other  industrial  plants  and  to 
conserve  the  resources  of  the  state  by  the  education  and  training  of 
all  classes  of  workers  in  and  about  mines  and  other  industrial  plants 
of  the  state,  legislation  of  1911  provided  for  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  a  form  of  educational  betterment  work  known  as  the 
Illinois  miners  and  mechanics  institutes.  The  purpose  of  these  institutes 
is  to  promote  the  technical  efficiency  of  all  persons  working  in  and 
about  mines  and  other  industrial  plants  of  the  state  and  to  assist  them 
better  to  overcome  the  difficulties  of  mining  and  other  industrial  em- 
ployments. For  the  accomplishment  of  this  purpose  any  and  all  means 
may  be  employed  such  as  the  sending  of  bulletins,  travelling  libraries, 
lectures,  correspondence  work,  etc.  The  administration  of  the  Illinois 
miners'  and  mechanics'  institutes  is  vested  in  the  trustees  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Illinois. 

The  methods  proposed  for  carrying  out  the  work  of  the  Illinois 
miners'  and  mechanics'  institutes  include  ofifering  (1)  a  two  years 
course  of  systematic  instruction  at  mining  centers,  (2)  unit  courses  in 
single  subjects  at  mining  towns,  (3)  a  short  course  at  the  University, 
(4)  co-operation  with  other  mining  authorities  and  with  schools  and 


*  LABOR   AND    MINING.  63 

libraries,  and  (5)  various  special  activities.*^  A  short  course  was 
offered  at  the  University  in  the  spring  of  1914;  and  courses  have  been 
organized  in  a  number  of  mining  towns. 

Mining  Investigation  Commission. 

The  General  Assembly  in  1909  created  a  mining  investigation 
commission  which  was  to  report  to  the  Governor  and  to  the  General 
Assembly  at  its  next  regular  session,  and  was  to  go  out  of  existence 
when  this  report  was  made.  The  sum  of  $25,000  was  appropriated  for 
the  use  of  this  commission.  An  act  of  1911,  almost  identical  with  that 
of  1909,  established  a  commission  which  was  to  report  to  the  Governor 
and  to  the  General  Assembly  at  its  next  regular  session,  and  which 
was  then  to  go  out  of  existence.  An  appropriation  of  $10,000  was 
made  for  the  use  of  the  commission.  In  1913  a  practically  identical 
act  was  again  passed,  with  the  provision  that  the  commission  should 
terminate  upon  the  adjournment  of  the  Forty-ninth  General  Assembly 
(i.  e.,  1915),  and  an  appropriation  of  $10,000  was  made.' 

The  mining  investigation  commission  established  by  these  laws, 
consists  of  three  coal  mine  owners  and  three  coal  miners,  together 
with  three  other  persons  not  identified  with  the  interests  of  either 
mine  owners  or  miners,  and  not  in  political  life,  all  of  whom  are 
appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  commission  having  been  authorized, 
with  a  limited  existence,  by  three  successve  acts,  new  appointments 
have  been  necessary  under  each  of  the  acts. 

The  Commission  elects  a  chairman  and  secretary  from  among 
their  number,  one  of  whom  must  be  a  mine  owner  and  the  other 
a  coal  miner.  Meetings  may  be  held  at  such  times  and  places  as  the 
Commission  may  fix,  but  called  meetings  must  be  held  upon  the  request 
of  three  members,  and  such  called  meetings  are  held  either  in  Springfield 
or  Chicago.  Members  of  the  Commission  who  are  mine  owners  or 
coal  miners  receive  no  compensation  for  their  services,  but  are  re- 
imbursed for  actual  expenses.  The  other  members  receive  $10  a  day 
for  services  rendered  and  are  also  reimbursed  for  actual  expenses. 
The  Commission  is  authorized  to  appoint  a  stenographer  or  clerk 
and  other  necessary  employees.  Disbursements  of  the  money  appropri- 
ated are  made  on  the  order  of  the  Commission,  signed  by  its  chair- 
man, attested  by  its  secretary,  and  approved  by  the  Governor.  The 
State  board  of  contracts  is  directed  to  provide  necessary  printing. 
Testimony  taken  by  the  Commission  is  required  to  be  reported  in  full 
and  may  be  published  by  the  Commission. 

The  Commission  is  empowered  to  investigate  "the  methods  and 
conditions  of  mining  coal  in  the  State  of  Illinois  with  special  reference 
to  the  safety  of  human  lives  and  property  and  the  conservation  of  the 
coal  deposits."  By  order  of  the  Commission  one  or  more  of  its  mem- 
bers may  be  authorized  to  take  testimony.  The  commissioners  have 
power  to  issue  subpoenas,  and  to  apply  to  the  circuit  courts  to  compel 
the  presence  of  witnesses  and  the  production  of  evidence.  The  Com- 
mission is  required  to  submit  to  the  Governor  and  to  the  General 

"Illinois  Miners'  and  Mechanics'  Institutes,  Bulletins  1  and  2. 

mi  Laws,  1909,  p.  55;  111.  Laws,  1911,  p.  65;  111.  Laws,  1913,  p.  43. 


64  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

Assembly  at  its  next  regular  session,  so  far  as  they  have  unanimously 
agreed,  a  proposed  revision  of  coal  mining  laws  of  the  state,  together 
with  such  other  recommendations  as  they  should  think  proper.  Where 
unanimous  agreements  could  not  be  had,  separate  reports  may  be  sub- 
mitted embodying  the  recommendations  of  any  one  or  more  members 
of  the  Commission. 

The  revision  of  the  mining  laws  in  1911  was  proposed  by  the 
first  mining  investigation  commission,  and  substantially  all  the  mining 
legislaton  of  the  47th  and  48th  General  Assemblies  resulted  either 
directly  or  indirectly  through  the  activities  of  the  investigation  com- 
missions. The  Commission  has  served  as  a  valuable  agency  for  ob- 
taining agreements  between  operators  and  miners  upon  proposed  legis- 
lation. Its  expenses  have  not  been  heavy,  and  its  continuance  may  be 
desirable  so  long  as  the  subject  of  mining  is  one  actively  before  the 
General  Assembly. 

Suggestions  Regarding  the  Administration  of  Mining  Legislation. 

There  are  now  four  boards  in  Illinois  having  to  do  with  the  mining 
laws :  the  State  mining  board ;  the  miners'  examining  board ;  the  com- 
mission in  control  of  the  mine  rescue  stations ;  and  the  mining  investig- 
ation commission.  The  mining  investigaton  commission  is  a  temporary 
body,  but  such  a  commission  will,  by  the  end  of  the  49th  General 
Assembly,  have  remained  in  existence  for  about  six  years. 

A  more  effective  organization  is  possible  and  it  is  recommended 
that  one  commission  be  vested  with  the  general  powers  now  exercised 
by  the  existing  four.  It  may,  however,  be  desirable  that  the  mining 
investigation  commission  remain  in  existence,  but  if  this  is  done  the 
Commission  should  be  organized  upon  a  permanent  basis.  The  mine 
rescue  work  is  similar  to  the  work  now  performed  by  the  State  mining 
board,  and  the  rescue  commission  can  now  be  abolished  without  any 
danger  to  the  work  of  the  rescue  stations. 

The  State  mining  board  now  examines  and  issues  certificates  to 
mine  managers,  mine  examiners  and  hoisting  engineers,  and  there  is 
no  reason  why  it  should  not  have  supervision  over  the  issuance  of 
certificates  of  competency  to  miners.  It  is  desirable  that  the  actual 
conduct  of  the  examination  of  miners  should  remain  in  the  hands  of  a 
committee  of  miners,  but  supervision  of  the  examinations,  some  control 
over  the  questions  to  be  asked,  and  the  administrative  details  with 
respect  to  the  examinations  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  state  mining 
board.  The  appointment  of  the  miners'  examining  board  should  also 
be  vested  in  the  State  mining  board. 

A  larger  power  should  be  conferred  upon  this  board  with  respect 
to  the  enforcement  of  the  act  providing  for  fire  fighting  equipment 
and  the  acts  relating  to  explosives ;  and  the  enforcement  of  the  shot 
firers'  act  should  be  committed  to  the  board.  To  this  board  should 
also  be  given  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations  (after  hearing  and 
with  judicial  review)  supplementing  the  present  mining  laws.  The 
individual  inspectors  now  exercise  some  discretion  (not  conferred 
by  law)  as  to  specific  safeguards  in  mines;  and  an  authority  in  the 
State  mining  board  to  make  rules  of  general  application  would  prove 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


65 


more  satisfactory  than  the  present  practice.  The  mining  investigation 
commission  in  its  1913  report  approved  the  plan  of  commiting  to  the 
mining  board  a  general  power  to  make  rules  and  regulation  for  the 
subject  of  mining  (such  rules  to  replace  the  rigid  statutory  require- 
ments), but  thought  the  time  not  a  favorable  one  for  the  introduction 
of  the  plan.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  both  miners  and  operators  have 
adjusted  themselves  to  the  provisions  of  the  present  mining  laws,  it 
has  been  thought  best  to  recommend  now  that  the  State  mining  board 
be  granted  power  to  make  supplementary  rules  only. 

The  functions  of  the  state  mining  board  will  be  primarily  advisory 
rather  than  administrative,  and  a  permanent  salaried  board  is  unneces- 
sary. The  present  State  mining  board,  the  mining  investigation  com- 
mission, and  the  mine  rescue  commission  are  on  a  per  diem,  and  this 
plan  should  be  continued  for  the  state  mining  board,  but  with  the  per 
diem  increased  from  $5  to  $10. 

The  executive  supervision  of  the  work  of  the  State  mining  board 
should  be  in  charge  of  a  secretary,  and  the  central  control  over  state 
mine  inspectors  should  be  very  materially  increased.  The  secretary 
should  be  a  member  of  the  board,  and  should  be  a  competent  person 
affiliated  neither  with  employers  nor  employes.  The  board  may  then 
be  composed  of  seven  members ;  of  the  six,  exclusive  of  the  secretary, 
five  may  perhaps  well  be  appointed  as  is  now  provided  by  law  for  the 
state  mining  board,  two  miners,  two  operators,  one  hoisting  engineer, 
although  there  is  no  reason  why  hoisting  engineers  should  be  preferred 
to  mine  managers  and  mine  examiners.  The  sixth  member  should 
be  a  competent  person  affiliated  neither  with  miners  nor  operators.  For 
the  appointment  of  miners  and  operators  provision  should  be  made 
that  the  miners'  and  operators'  organizations  may  make  recommenda- 
tions to  the  Governor  from  which  the  Governor  may  make  appoint- 
ments. 

With  respect  to  county  mine  inspectors,  the  present  situation  is 
somewhat  chaotic.  The  county  inspectors  are  appointed  by  county 
boards  and  paid  from  county  funds ;  county  inspectors  must  hold 
certificates  as  mine  managers  and  are  appointed  (at  least  the  statute 
provides  that  in  the  first  instance  the  office  shall  be  created)  upon 
the  written  request  of  the  State  inspector.  The  State  inspector  may 
authorize  a  county  inspector  to  exercise  all  the  inspection  functions  in 
his  county,  during  the  absence  therefrom  of  the  State  inspector.  Bond 
of  the  state  inspector  may  be  held  for  the  faithful  performance  of 
duty  by  the  county  inspector.  Otherwise  there  is  no  official  subordina- 
tion of  county  inspectors  to  the  state  inspectors  or  to  the  state  mining 
board,  and  the  State  mining  board  actually  has  no  record  of  the 
counties  which  have  appointed  inspectors. 

Reports  received  from  the  State  inspectors  for  the  various  dis- 
tricts indicate  that  all  the  more  important  coal  producing  counties  have 
provided  for  inspectors  who  are  to  give  full  time,  or  substantially  full 
time,  to  mine  inspection  work ;  in  a  number  of  other  counties  inspectors 
have  been  appointed,  but  with  per  diem  payment,  limited  either  as 
to  total  annual  amounts  or  as  to  the  number  of  days.  The  State  law 
provides  that  the  compensation  of  county  inspectors  shall  not  be  less 


66  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

that  $3  a  day.  Altogether  thirty-six  counties  have  made  some  pro- 
vision for  county  inspectors,  and  it  may  be  roughtly  estimated  that  the 
expense  to  the  counties  in  this  connection  is  about  $25,000.  County 
inspectors  are  primarily  responsible  to  the  county  boards  from  which 
they  receive  their  appointments  and  salaries.  The  county  inspectors 
are  usually  appointed  for  one  year,  although  occasionally  appointments 
are  made  for  longer  terms.  The  county  inspectors  do  some  independent 
inspecting,  but  in  most  counties  they  make  inspections  with  the  State 
inspector,  one  taking  certain  passages  in  the  mine  and  the  other  inspect- 
ing a  different  part  of  the  mine. 

The  present  situation  with  respect  to  county  inspectors  is  unsatis- 
factory, because  of  the  lack  of  definite  responsibility,  varying  salaries, 
and  varying  terms  of  office.  For  the  correction  of  this  situation  two 
alternatives  present  themselves:  (a)  county  inspectors  may  be  con- 
tinued, but  under  a  much  greater  degree  of  subordination  to  the  state 
service  than  at  present;  or  (b)  the  scheme  of  county  inspectors  may 
be  abolished,  this  rendering  necessary  an  increase  in  the  state  inspection 
force  and  an  increase  of  state  expense  although  not  an  increase  of 
total  expense  for  mine  inspection. 

The  second  plan  is  thought  to  be  the  more  desirable  one.  The 
mining  investigation  commission  in  its  1911  report  said,  "an  important 
change  and  one  which  the  commission  has  agreed  should  be  made,  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  a  compact  organization  in  the  mine  inspection 
service,  directed  by  one_  board,  available  for  use  anywhere  in  the  state 
and  thereby  providing  greater  efficiency,  is  the  substitution  of  deputy 
inspectors  appointed  by  the  Governor  and  subject  to  the  control  of  the 
state  mining  board,  in  place  of  the  present  county  mine  inspectors  ap- 
pointed by  the  various  county  boards  at  their  pleasure."  (p.  4.)  The 
essential  part  of  this  recommendation,  that  as  to  replacing  county 
inspectors  by  an  increased  state,  inspection  force,  is  worth  adopting. 
If  the  state  inspection  force  is  increased  (at  least  twenty  inspectors 
will  be  necessary),  there  should  be  a  grading  of  salary  so  that  a  person 
appointed  at  one  salary  may  be  promoted  for  efficient  work.  Power 
should  also  be  given  the  state  mining  board  to  assign  inspectors  and 
transfer  them  from  one  district  to  another. 

With  respect  to  state  mining  services  the  essential  recommenda- 
tions for  reorganization  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

(1)  Establishment  of  a  state  mining  board,  which  should  unite 
the  functions  now  exercised  by  the  state  mining  board,  mine  rescue 
commission,  miners'  examining  board,  and  possibly  the  mining  investi- 
gation commission. 

(2)  The  grant  to  this  board  of  power  to  make  rules  supplement- 
ing the  present  mining  laws. 

(3)  The  appointment  of  a  secretary,  who  shall  have  executive 
charge  of  the  work  of  the  state  mining  board  and  direct  supervision 
over  the  several  inspectors. 

(4)  The  abolition  of  the  office  of  county  mine  inspector,  and 
the  increase  of  the  state  inspectional  force. 

The  work  of  the  state  mining  board  will,  in  large  part  be  some- 
what different  from  the  work  handled  by  other  branches  of  the  proposed 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  67 

department  of  labor.  For  this  reason  the  mining  board  and  its  secre- 
tary should  not  be  strictly  subordinated  to  the  department  of  labor, 
but  their  reports  should  be  transmitted  through  that  department,  and 
reports  of  mine  accidents  should  go  from  the  state  mining  board 
to  the  bureau  of  statistics  of  the  department  of  labor.  With 
respect  to  workmen's  compensation,  matters  relating  to  mines  as  well 
as  to  other  forms  of  employment  should  be  handled  through  the  com- 
pensation bureau  of  the  proposed  department  of  labor. 

The  scheme  here  proposed  will  cost  perhaps  a"  little  less  than  that 
now  in  existence,  but  the  cost  to  the  state  treasury  will  be  greater  be- 
cause of  the  proposed  transfer  of  expense  now  borne  by  counties  in 
connection  with  the  appointment  of  county  mine  inspectors. 


68  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 


IX.     ACCIDENT  REPORTING. 

It  will  be  well  to  indicate  just  what  accident  reports  each  office 
or  department  is  now  by  law  entitled  to  receive. 

Industrial  Board.  Under  the  workmen's  compensation  act  of 
1911,  the  administration  of  a  compensation  scheme  was  vested  in  the 
bureau  of  labor  statistics  and  reports  provided  for  by  that  law  were 
required  to  be  sent  to  that  bureau.  The  compensation  act  of  1913, 
however,  created  an  industrial  board,  and  provided  that  reports  under 
the  compensation  law  should  go  to  that  board.  For  employers  and 
employees  coming  under  the  terms  of  the  act,  compensation  is  payable 
in  case  of  incapacity  of  more  than  six  working  days,  resulting  from 
accident. 

The  reports  required  by  the  act  of  1913  to  be  sent  to  this  board 
by  employers  under  the  workmen's  compensation  act  are  as  follows : 

(1)  An  immediate  report  of  all  accidental  injuries  arising  out 
of  or  in  the  course  of  employment  and  resulting  in  death. 

(2)  A  report  between  the  15th  and  25th  of  eac'h  month  of  all 
accidental  injuries  for  which  compensation  has  been  paid  under  the 
act,  which  injuries  entail  a  loss  to  the  employees  of  more  than  one 
week's  time. 

(3)  In  case  the  injury  results  in  permanent  disability  a  further 
report  as  soon  as  it  is  determined  that  permanent  disability  has  resulted 
or  will  result  from  such  injury. 

The  act  provides  (in  this  respect  repeating  a  provision  of  the 
compensation  act  of  1911)  that  "the  making  of  reports  as  provided 
herein  shall  release  the  employer  covered  by  the  provisions  of  this  act 
from  making  such  reports  to  any  other  officer  of  the  state."  This 
relieves  from  making  reports  such  as  above  required  to  any  other 
officer  of  the  state,  except  with  respect  to  the  public  utilities  commis- 
sion, which  was  created  by  an  act  approved  June  30,  1913,  whereas 
the  workmen's  compensation  act  of  1913  was  approved  June  28. 

It  becomes  important,  therefore,  to  know  just  what  reports  need 
now  be  made  to  other  state  officers  by  the  employers  accepting  the 
workmen's  compensation  act.  Such  reports  as  those  under  No.  3  above 
are  not  required  by  law  to  be  made  to  any  other  office,  and  as  to  them 
there  is  no  question. 

As  to  No.  1  above  reports  of  accidents  resulting  in  death  would, 
under  the  laws  of  1907  and  1909,  have  to  be  made  to  other  officers  if 
the  employer  were  not  under  the  compensation  law,  but  do  not  have 
to  made  if  he  is  under  this  law.  Reports  of  death  in  such  cases  need 
not  go  to  the  factory  inspector's  office  or  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics, 
or  to  the  state  mine  inspector  if  the  employee  is  engaged  in  mining. 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  69 

An  employer   (other  than  a  public  utility)   accepting  the  workmen's 
compensation  act  is  excused  from  reporting  deaths  to  any  one  else. 

As  to  the  second  class  of  reports  noted  above,  attention  should  be 
called  to  the  fact  that  they  are  reports  not  of  accidents  primarily  but 
of  accidental  injuries  for  which  compensation  has  been  paid.  Reports 
of  precisely  this  character  are  not  required  to  be  made  to  any  other 
office  of  this  state,  and  it  may  be  argued  that  the  making  of  such  reports 
does  not  properly  exempt  the  employer  from  the  requirement  that 
he  make  to  other  offices  within  a  certain  time  a  report  of  the  accident, 
or  at  least  that  he  report  to  other  offices  accidents  for  which  compensa- 
tion has  not  yet  been  paid.  Under  the  compensation  act  of  1913 
(Sec.  12),  a  delay  of  at  least  39  days  may  take  place  in  some  cases 
before  it  is  known  whether  compensation  will  be  claimed,  and  if  reports 
were  still  required  under  earlier  laws,  they  would  very  likely  be  due 
before  compensation  has  actually  been  paid.  However,  the  purpose 
of  the  legislature  was  probably  to  exempt  an  employer  under  the  com- 
pensation law  from  reporting  to  any  other  officer  all  accidents  for 
which  compensation  might  be  payable  or  had  been  paid.  And  such 
was  the  ruling  of  the  Attorney  General,  under  the  compensation  act 
of  1911.  In  reply  to  a  letter  from  the  chief  factory  inspector.  Attorney 
General  Stead  wrote  on  May  3,  1912 : 

"All  establishments  which  have  elected  to  come  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  compensation  act  are  required  by  that  act  to  compensate 
for  injuries  resulting  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  thereof,  and 
inasmuch  as  section  19  provides  that  all  accidents  resulting  in  the  loss 
of  more  than  one  week  shall  be  reported,  and  section  112  [the  health, 
safety  and  comfort  act  of  1909]  .  .  .  fixes  the  loss  of  fifteen 
consecutive  days'  time  or  more  as  the  basis  of  the  report,  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  the  words  'all  accidents  or  injuries  for  which  compensa- 
tion has  been  paid  under  this  act',  were  not  intended  by  the  General 
Assembly  to  require  those  establishments  which  have  elected  to  accept 
the  provisions  of  the  compensation  act,  to  make  reports  to  your  depart- 
ment of  accidents  for  which  compensation  has  not  been  paid,  for  the 
reason  that  the  act  contemplates  payment  for  all  injuries  resulting  in  a 
loss  of  more  than  one  week's  time."® 

The  Attorney  General  ruled  that  all  establishments  accepting  the 
provisions  of  the  compensation  act  were  excused  from  the  necessity 
of  making  reports  to  the  office  of  the  chief  factory  inspector  and  the 
principle  of  this  ruling  would  apply  to  the  compensation  act  of  1913. 
This  principle,  if  established  as  to  reports  to  the  state  factory  inspector, 
would  also  exempt  any  employer  imder  the  compensation  act  from 
reporting  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  or  the  state  mine  inspectors. 
Of  course,  employers  not  accepting  the  compensation  act  are  in  no 
way  excused  from  reporting  accidents  under  earlier  laws.  Throughout 
the  remainder  of  this  discussion  the  Attorney  General's  view  is  adopted, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  the  view  upon  which  the  several  labor  offices  have 
acted. 


^Report  of  the  Attorney   General,   1912,  p.    1089, 


70  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

Public  Utilities  Commission. 

Every  public  utility  in  the  state  is  required  to  make  reports  of 
certain  classes  of  accidents  to  the  public  utilities  commission.  Two 
classes  of  accidents  are  to  be  reported  :  (1)  "Every  accident  occurring 
or  that  may  occur  to  or  on  its  plant,  equipment  or  other  property  of  such 
a  nature  as  to  endanger  the  safety,  health  or  property  of  any  person." 
These  reports  are  to  be  sent  in  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  the 
commission  may  prescribe.  This  first  class  of  accidents  includes  acci- 
dents to  property,  primarily,  and  as  such  is  of  only  incidental  importance 
in  this  connection.  (2)  The  second  class  of  accident  reports  to  be 
sent  to  the  public  utilities  commission  includes  "any  accident  which 
occasions  the  loss  of  life  or  limb  to  any  person."  These  reports  are  to 
be  sent  immediately  upon  the  happening  of  the  accident,  by  the  speed- 
iest means  of  communication,  whether  telephone,  telegraph,  or  post. 
The  public  utilities  act  contains  no  provision  which  exempts  public 
utilities  from  making  reports  of  accidents  to  other  state  agencies.  Con- 
sequently this  act  does  not  affect  any  other  act  which  requires  accident 
reporting.  Nor  is  the  act  aft'ected  by  any  other  act.  The  public  utilities 
act  was  approved  June  30,  1913,  subsequent  to  any  of  the  other  acts 
here  considered,  and  consequently  provisions  in  the  workmen's  compen- 
sation act  of  June  28,  1913,  and  in  the  health,  safety  and  comfort  act 
of  1909,  which  release  persons  affected  by  either  from  reporting  to 
other  state  agencies,  do  not  operate  to  release  any  public  utility  from 
reporting  accidents  required  of  it  by  this  act,  to  the  public  utilities  com- 
mission. The  public  utilities  commission  will  therefore,  be  entitled  to 
receive  reports  of  all  accidents  which  by  the  public  utilities  act  are  re- 
quired to  be  sent  to  it. 

A  public  utility,  however,  wiH  be  affected  by  other  acts  and  will 
be  required  to  make  additional  reports  to  other  state  agencies.  If 
it  is  under  the  workmen's  compensation  act,  reports  required  by  that 
act  must  be  sent  to  the  industrial  board. 

If  the  public  utility  is  under  the  workmen's  compensation  act  it 
will  report  only  to  the  public  utilities  commission  and  to  the  industrial 
board.  If  it  is  not  under  the  workmen's  compensation  act  the  public 
utility  will  be  required  to  report  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
all  accidents  covered  by  the  accident  reporting  act  of  1907,  in  addition 
to  its  regular  reports  to  the  public  utilities  commission.^ 

State  Mine  Inspectors. 

Under  section  25  of  the  coal  mining  act  of  1911,  the  state  mine 
inspector  is  entitled  to  receive  reports  from  every  person  having  charge 
of  any  mine,  of  every  accident  which  occasions  "any  loss  of  life  or 
personal  injury  in  or  about  any  coal  mine."  The  report  is  to  be  sent 
"without  delay"  to  the  state  inspector  having  charge  of  the  district  in 
which  this  accident  occurred.  The  mines  and  mining  act  does  not 
release  any  mine  operator  from  making  reports  of  accidents  to  other 
state  agencies.     It,  therefore,  does  not  affect  any  other  such  act.    The 

"Under  opinion  of  Attorney  General  under  K.iilroad  and  Warehouse  Law.  Report  of 
Attorney  General,  1908,  p.  558.  For  the  view  that  reporting  to  inine  inspectors  does  not 
relieve  from  reporting  under  act  of  1907,  see  Ibid,   p.   559, 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  71 

act,  however,  is  affected  by  the  workmen's  compensation  act,  but  by 
no  other  act.  If  a  mine  operator  is  under  the  workmen's  compensation 
act,  reports  thereunder,  which  go  to  the  industrial  board  reUeve  from 
the  necessity  of  reporting  the  same  accidents  to  the  state  mine  inspector. 
This  does  not  reheve  mine  operators  wlio  are  under  the  compensation 
law  from  reporting  to  the  mine  inspector  minor  accidents  not  subject 
to  the  compensation  law. 

In  some  cases  mine  operators  under  the  workmen's  compensation 
act  have  declined  to  report  accidents  to  the  state  mine  inspectors,  and 
there  is  a  possibility  of  the  mine  operators  uniting  in  such  refusal.  The 
present  Attorney  General  has  ruled  that  mine  inspectors  are  entitled 
to  receive  reports  of  accidents,  even  though  the  operators  are  under 
the  workmen's  compensation  law,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  this  view 
would  be  upheld  by  the  courts. 

Under  the  act  of  1907  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  is  entitled  to 
receive  reports  of  a  certain  class  of  accidents  from  all  mines.  The 
bureau  of  labor  statistics  will  still  receive  these  reports  from  mine 
operators  provided  they  are  not  under  the  workmen's  compensation 
act.  Reports  from  mines  which  are  sent  to  the  industrial  board  need  not 
be  sent  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  The  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
will  receive  accident  reports  only  from  mining  companies  which  are  not 
under  the  workmen's  compensation  act. 

Department  of  Factory  Inspection. 

The  state  factory  inspector,  under  the  health,  safety  and  comfort 
act  of  1909,  is  entitled  to  receive  reports  of  two  classes  of  accidents 
occurring  in  "all  factories,  mercantile  establishments,  mills  and  work- 
shops in  this  state."  The  first  class  includes  "all  accidents  or  injuries 
resulting  in  death."  Reports  of  such  accidents  must  be  sent  to  the  state 
factory  inspector  immediately  upon  the  happening  of  the  accident. 
The  second  class  includes  "all  accidents  or  injuries  occurring  during 
the  previous  calendar  month  which  entailed  a  loss  to  the  person  injured 
of  15  consecutive  days'  time  or  more."  These  reports  must  be  made 
to  the  state  factory  inspector  between  the  15th  and  25th  of  each  month. 
Any  employer  who  makes  the  reports  of  accidents  required  by  this 
act  is  not  required  to  make  such  reports  to  any  other  state  officer, 
board  or  commission.  This  act,  having  been  adopted  in  1909,  affects  the 
act  of  1907  requiring  reports  to  be  sent  to  the  buerau  of  labor  statistics, 
but  does  not  affect  any  other  act.  The  bureau  of  labor  statistics  is  not 
entitled  to  receive  reports  of  any  accidents  occurring  in  any  factory, 
mercantile  establishment,  mill  or  workshop  in  this  state. 

The  health,  safety  and  comfort  act  is  affected  by  the  workmen's 
compensation  act  of  1913  but  by  no  other  act.  The  latter  act  relieves 
all  persons  reporting  to  the  industrial  board  from  reporting  the  same 
accidents  to  any  other  state  officer.  The  state  factory  inspector  is  not 
entitled  to  receive  reports  of  any  accident  from  any  factory,  mercantile 
establishment,  mill  or  workshop  which  has  adopted  the  workmen's 
compensation  act. 


72  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics. 

The  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  under  the  accident  reporting  act 
of  1907,  is  entitled  to  receive  reports  from  "all  persons  employing 
laborers  of  any  character,"  "of  every  serious  injury  entailing  a  loss  of 
30  or  more  days'  time,  injury  or  death  of  every  employee  caused  by 
accident  while  in  the  performance  of  any  duty  or  service  for  such  em- 
ployer." These  reports  are  to  be  sent  in  within  thirty  days  from  the 
date  of  the  injury  or  death.  The  act  does  not  affect  any  other  act 
having  to  do  with  accident  reporting,  but  is  affected  by  the  health, 
safety  and  comfort  act  of  1909,  and  by  the  workmen's  compensation 
act  of  1913  when  such  person  comes  within  its  provisions.  The  health, 
L>afety  and  comfort  act  relieves  a  person  reporting  accidents  to  the 
state  factory  inspector  from  reporting  such  accidents  to  any  other 
state  offfcer  and  the  workmen's  compensation  act  as  interpreted  relieves 
a  person  reporting  to  the  industrial  board  from  reporting  the  same 
accidents  to  any  other  state  officer.  The  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
iherefore,  will  receive  reports  only  from  those  persons  who  are  not 
under  the  provisions  of  either  of  these  two  acts.  Factories,  mercantile 
establishments,  mills  and  workshops  will  not  report  to  the  bureau  of 
.abor  statistics,  they  being  relieved  by  reporting  to  the  state  factory 
inspector.  Public  utilities,  mines  and  all  other  persons  employing  labor- 
ers (not  in  factories,  mercantile  establishments,  mills  and  workshops) 
will  still  report  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  imless  they  elect  to 
come  within  the  provisions  of  the  workmen's  compensation  act.  Since 
ihe  bureau  of  labor  statistics  act  applies  to  all  persons  employing  labor- 
ers, there  will  be  a  large  class  still  bound  to  report  to  that  body.  They, 
however,  may  be  relieved  from  making  such  reports  by  adopting  the 
workmen's  compensation  act. 

Character  of  Reports. 

One  other  situation  arising  out  of  the  general  scheme  of  accident 
reporting  may  be  noted.  The  reports  sent  to  the  various  state  offices 
r.re  not  identical  nor  do  they  cover  the  same  classes  of  injuries.  To 
ihe  bureau  of  labor  statistics  is  sent  a  report  of  the  death  of  every 
employee  and  the  injury  to  every  employee  caused  by  accident,  while  in 
ihe  performance  of  his  duty  and  which  entails  a  loss  of  30  or  more 
days'  time.     The  character  of  the  report  is  specified  in  the  statute. 

To  the  state  factory  inspector  is  sent  reports  of  all  accidents  or  injuries 
resulting  in  death,  and  all  accidents  or  injuries  which  entail  a  loss  to  the 
person  injured  of  15  consecutive  days'  time  or  more.  The  character  of 
ihe  report  is  specified  in  the  act  of  1909  and  is,  except  in  a  few  minor 
[>oints,  identical  with  that  of  the  report  to  be  sent  to  the  bureau  of 
;abor  statistics.  The  state  mine  inspectors  are  entitled  to  receive  reports 
(  f  any  loss  of  life  or  personal  injury  in  or  about  a  mine ;  minor  injuries 
;  re  included  here  which  are  not  included  in  the  acts  of  1907  and  1909. 

The  character  of  the  report  is  left  to  be  determined  by  the  state  mine 
inspectors  or  by  the  State  mining  board.  The  public  utilities  commis- 
s;on  receives  reports  (exclusive  of  reports  of  accidents  to  property) 
only  of  accidents  which  occasion  the  loss  of  life  or  limb  to  any  person, 
but  less  serious  accidents  would  in  most  cases  have  to  be  reported  in 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


73 


connection  with  reports  of  accidents  to  public  utility  property.     The 

character  of  the  report  is  to  be  fixed  by  the  rules  of  the  commission. 

To  the  Industrial  Board  are  sent  reports  of  (1)  accidental  injuries 

arising  out  of  the  course  of  the  employment  and  resulting  in  death, 

(2)  accidental  injuries   for  which  compensation  has  been  paid,  and 

(3)  an  additional  report  of  all  injuries  which  result  in  permanent  dis- 
ability.   The  character  of  the  reports  is  specified  by  the  act. 

Purposes  of  Accident  Reporting. 

Accident  reporting  by  employers  has  a  three-fold  purpose : 

(1)  The  indication  of  conditions  bearing  upon  safety  in  employ- 
ment.    This  is  its  main  purpose. 

(2)  For  statistical  statement  and  publication  as  to  conditions 
under  which  labor  is  conducted  in  Illinois. 

(3)  The  enforcement  of  the  compensation  act  as  to  employers 
and  employees  who  are  under  its  terms. 

(1)  Reports  of  accidents  to  the  chief  state  factory  inspector, 
the  public  utilities  commission  and  the  staie  mine  inspectors  have  to 
do  with  the  subject  of  safety.  Reports  to  the  public  utilities  commis- 
sion under  the  act  of  1913  are  not  affected  by  the  possibility  that  reports 
of  the  same  accidents  may  have  to  go  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
and,  if  the  employer  is  under  the  compensation  act,  to  the  industrial 
board.  Reports  to  the  state  mine  inspectors  will  not  be  necessary,  it 
would  seem,  if  the  same  accidents  are  to  be  reported  to  the  industrial 
board  by  the  employers  under  the  compensation  law.  And  an  employer 
under  the  compensation  law  need  not  report  accidents  to  the  office 
of  the  chief  state  factory  inspector. 

It  is  out  of  the  question  for  the  factory  inspector's  office  to  make 
frequent  inspections  of  all  establishments  in  the  state,  but  the  occurrence 
of  an  accident  in  any  factory  should  result  in  an  immediate  inspection. 
An  effective  system  of  accident  reporting  is  necessary  in  order  to 
obtain  a  satisfactory  enforcement  of  the  laws  having  to  do  with  safety 
in  factories.  But  under  present  conditions  there  can  be  no  assurance 
whatever  that  accidents  are  reported  to  the  factory  inspector's  office> 
An  employer  under  the  workmen's  compensation  act  is  exempt  from 
making  such  reports  and  the  factory  inspector's  office  does  not  know 
what  factories  are  exempt  and  what  are  not  (although  it  would  be 
possible  to  get  from  the  industrial  board  a  list  of  those  coming  under 
the  compensation  law).  The  factory  inspector's  office  therefore  not 
only  does  not  get  all  the  accident  reports  which  it  should  have  as  a 
basis  for  its  work,  but  also  it  does  not  get  all  the  reports  to  which  it  is 
entitled  under  the  law,  for  it  is  clearly  entitled  to  get  reports  of  fell 
accidents  occurring  in  factories,  mercantile  establishments,  mills,  or 
workshops  which  result  in  a  loss  of  fifteen  days'  time  or  more,  if 
such  establishments  are  not  under  the  compensation  act.  The  fact 
that  some  employers  who  previously  reported  accidents  to  this  office 
need  not  do  so  now  makes  it  easy  for  an  employer  to  escape  accident 
reporting  altogether. 

In  truth  the  factory  inspector's  office  seems  to  have  been  under  the 
impression  that  the  compensation  act  of   1911  relieved  the  employer 


74  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

from  the  necessity  of  making  any  accident  reports  to  it,  and  such  a  state- 
ment is  made  in  the  report  of  that  office  (in  manuscript)  for  1912-13. 
At  the  same  time  the  report  of  the  chief  state  factory  inspector  for 
1912-13  urges  the  desirabihty  of  having  all  accident  reports  come 
directly  or  indirectly  to  the  factory  inspector's  office.  At  present  this 
office  gets  some  accident  reports,  but  cannot  be  sure  what  proportion 
of  accidents  is  reported,  and  for  Chicago  relies  upon  reports  obtained 
from  the  police  bureau.  For  the  rest  of  the  state  the  factory  inspector's 
office  relies  upon  more  or  less  haphazard  information  as  to  accidents. 
Under  the  present  laws  the  reports  of  accidents  in  mines  are  almost  if 
not  equally  as  confused  as  those  of  accidents  in  factories,  etc. 

Another  difficulty  under  which  the  chief  state  factory  inspector's 
office  would  labor,  even  if  it  were  trying  systematically  to  get  all  acci- 
dent reports  to  which  it  is  entitled,  is  that  the  health,  safety  and  com- 
fort act  of  1909  requires  reports  of  accidents  in  factories,  mercantile 
establishments,  mills,  or  workshops  to  go  to  the  factory  inspector's 
office,  while  other  employers  of  labor  are  under  the  act  of  1907  required 
to  report  accidents  to  the  state  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  In  many 
cases  it  would  not  be  clear  which  of  these  offices  should  receive  reports 
from  an  employer  of  labor  (who  is  not  under  the  compensation  act  of 
1913)  and  the  result  would  probably  be  that  such  an  employer  would 
escape  making  accident  reports  to  any  state  office.  Under  present  law 
in  Illinois  no  one  office  can  make  a  list  of  all  establishments  required 
to  report  accidents,  and  systematically  enforce  the  duty  of  accident 
reporting  imposed  upon  employers. 

(2)  For  the  second  purpose  of  accident  reporting,  that  of  provid- 
ing and  publishing  statistical  information,  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
is  the  state  organ.  Under  the  act  of  1907  and  the  workmen's  compensa- 
tion act  of  1911  accident  reports  w^ent  to  this  bureau,  except  those  of 
accidents  occurring  in  factories,  mercantile  establishments,  mills  or 
workshops,  which  went  to  the  chief  state  factory  inspector's  office 
under  the  act  of  1909.  Now  (under  the  act  of  1913)  accidents  occur- 
ring in  cases  where  the  establishment  is  under  the  compensation  act  of 
1913  are  reported  to  the  industrial  board.  Under  the  mining  act  of 
1899,  repealed  in  1911,  certain  reports  from  mine  inspectors  went  also 
to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  In  its  1912  report  the  bureau  of 
labor  statistics  compiled  the  reports  received  by  it  under  the  act  of 
1907,  the  reports  received  by  it  as  the  organ  administering  the  com- 
pensation act  of  1911,  and  in  addition  obtained  the  reports  made  to 
the  state  factory  inspector  under  the  act  of  1909.  Now,  however,  if 
satisfactory  accident  reports  are  to  be  published,  the  bureau  of  labor 
statistics  must  make  sure  of  getting  not  only  the  accident  reports 
coming  to  itself,  but  also  those  coming  to  the  chief  factory  inspector's 
office,  to  the  industrial  board,  and  to  the  state  mining  board  (although 
all  reports  reaching  the  latter  should  also  be  in  the  hands  of  the  bureau 
of  labor  statistics  or  of  the  industrial  board).  There  is  no  power  in 
the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  to  require  the  delivery  to  it  of  accident 
reports  made  to  other  offices,  nor  need  the  reports  to  the  several  offices 
be  uniform.    It  will  be  a  matter  of  surprise  should  the  statistical  reports 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


75 


of  accidents  published  by  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  prove  at  all 
complete  or  satisfactory,  in  the  present  state  of  the  law. 

(3)  For  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the  compensation  act,  the 
act  of  1911  provided  for  accident  reports  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
and  the  act  of  1913  for  reports  to  the  industrial  board.  Reference  has 
already  been  made  to  the  difficulties  occasioned  by  the  act  of  1913, 
with  respect  to  accident  reports  to  other  offices.  In  addition,  attention 
should  be  called  to  the  fact  that  the  compensation  acts  of  1911  and 
1913  each  required,  except  in  case  of  death,  the  reporting  only  of  "acci- 
dents for  which  compensation  has  been  paid"  under  the  acts,  whereas 
those  administering  a  compensation  scheme  are  even  more  interested 
in  accidents  for  which  compensation  may  be  due,  but  has  not  yet 
been  paid.  Compensation,  under  the  act,  is  not  necessarily  paid  at 
once  but  may  be  delayed  for  a  period  of  some  length. 

The  Employer  Under  the  Present  Situation. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  employer  the  present  situation  is  a 
troublesome  one.  If  under  the  compensation  act  his  position  is  not 
difficult  (as  that  law  is  interpreted  by  the  Attorney  General),  although 
a  public  utility  under  the  compensation  law  is  required  to  report  its 
accidents  both  to  the  industrial  board  and  to  the  public  utility 
commission. 

If  not  under  the  compensation  law  the  employer  must  decide 
whether  under  the  law  as  it  now  stands  he  is  to  report  to  the  chief 
state  factory  inspector's  office  or  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics ;  and  it 
may  not  always  be  clear  whether  his  business  is  or  is  not  a  factory, 
mercantile  establishment,  mill  or  workshop.  If  this  point  is  difficult 
to  decide  the  employer  is  apt  to  wait  until  one  office  or  the  other  reminds 
him  of  his  failure  to  report,  in  many  cases  perhaps  thinking  rightly  that 
his  failure  will  not  be  detected.  Such  a  failure  to  define  clearly  the 
jurisdictions  of  the  two  offices  probably  results  in  incomplete  accident 
reports  from  employers. 

Even  if  the  point  just  discussed  were  clear,  the  employer's  diffi- 
culties are  not  at  an  end.  If  a  public  utility,  not  under  the  compensation 
act,  reports  of  accidents  must  go  both  to  the  public  utilities  commission 
and  to  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  If  a  mine,  and  not  under  the 
compensation  act,  reports  of  accidents  must  go  to  the  bureau  of  labor 
statistics  and  to  the  state  mine  inspector.  Moreover,  where  reports 
to  two  state  officers  are  required,  the  content  of  the  reports  is  different 
and  the  employer  is  put  to  much  unnecessary  annoyance. 

Suggestions.  

If  there  is  to  be  a  consolidated  department  of  labor,  it  will 
probably  be  best  to  have  all  reports  of  accidents  to  workmen 
(except  those  with  respect  to  miners),  go  directly  to  the  bureau  of 
statistics ;  from  this  bureau  copies  could  at  once  be  forwarded  to  the 
other  bureaus.  Such  a  plan,  however,  would  not  work  satisfactorily 
unless  the  central  offices  of  all  bureaus  were  in  the  same  building. 


76  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

Another  function  of  a  bureau  of  statistics  may  properly  be  that 
of  preparing  and  keeping  up  to  date  an  industrial  directory  of  the 
state.  A  definite  knowledge  as  to  what  establishments  are  doing  busi- 
ness in  the  state  is  necessary,  not  only  that  full  statistics  may  be  ob- 
tained, but  also  in  order  that  an  ef^cient  inspection  of  factories  may  be 
,  had. 

It  is  undesirable  to  have  the  forms  for  accident  reporting  fixed  by 
law.  Power  to  determine  forms  for  all  industries  except  mines  should 
be  vested  in  the  industrial  commission  (formed  as  indicated  on  p.  84). 
For  mines  the  form  should  first  be  determined  by  the  state  mining 
board,  subject  to  review  by  the  industrial  commission.  The  forms 
should  be  so  devised  that  an  employer  need  make  but  one  report  for 
each  accident. 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


77 


X.     GENERAL  SUMMARY  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 
Recent  Developments  in  Other  States. 

The  tendencies  of  labor  legislation  in  other  states  have  been  toward 
(1)  centralization  of  administration  in  the  hands  of  one  bureau  or 
department,  (2)  a  greater  degree  of  flexibility  in  the  labor  legislation 
itself,  and  (3)  a  closer  co-operation  between  employer  and  employee 
in  the  enforcement  of  labor  laws. 

(1)  Effective  administration  cannot  be  expected  from  a  series  of 
independent  offices,  with  conflicting  powers.  Wisconsin  in  1911  estab- 
lished an  industrial  commission  and  placed  the  administration  of  all 
labor  legislation  in  the  hands  of  this  commission.  Ohio  in  1913  adopted 
a  similar  plan.  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  have  to  a  large  extent 
centralized  the  administration  of  labor  legislation.^'' 

(2)  The  policy  in  this  country  until  recently  has  been  to  enact 
statutes  which  attempt  to  cover  in  detail  every  contingency  that  may 
arise  in  connection  with  the  guarding  of  machinery,  etc.  It  is  impossible 
to  cover  all  such  details  in  a  statute,  and  to  change  statutory  provisions 
quickly  so  as  to  adjust  them  to  changing  industrial  conditions.  The 
situation  is  much  the  same  as  that  which  prevailed  some  years  ago  with 
reference  to  the  fixing  of  railroad  rates.  Legislatures  have  now  realized 
that  it  is  impossible  to  regulate  rates  in  detail  by  statute,  and  have 
committed  this  task  to  permanent  commissions,  laying  down  in  the 
statute  the  general  principles  under  which  the  commission  should  act. 

The  New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission  said  in 
Its  report"  in  1913:  "The  labor  law  is  framed  on  what  we  believe  to 
be  a  mistaken  theory,  that  the  requirements  for  the  protection  of  the 
health  and  safety  of  workers  should  all  be  expressed  within  the  four 
corners  of  the  statute  itself.  The  attempt  to  carry  out  this  theory  has 
led  to  the  enactment  of  provisions  so  specific  and  rigid  in  their  require- 
ments as  to  make  their  enforcement  in  many  cases,  unjust  or  even 
impossible.  They  fail  to  take  into  account  the  varying  conditions  in 
different  industries.  In  some  instances  where  the  impossibility  of 
setting  a  rigid  standard  for  all  cases  was  manifest,  the  provisions  of 
the  law  were  made  so  vague  and  indefinite  that  their  meaning  or 
application  could  not  be  determined  at  all,  or  had  to  depend  upon  the 
exercise  of  an  administrative  discretion,  a  one-man  discretion,  so 
arbitrary  in  character  and  so  calculated  to  work  injustice,  that  it  was 
either  not  exercised  at  all,  or  when  exercised,  became  a  natural  subject 
of  distrust  on  the  part  of  the  courts.     We  believe  that  the  only  way 

^"See  Report  on  the  Reorganization  of  Labor  Departments  in  other  states,  appended  to 
this  report. 

"Second    Report,    1.   p.    30. 


78  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

of  obtaining  a  labor  law  wbich  can  be  enforced,  is  to  abandon  thd 
theory  underlying  the  labor  law  as  it  now  stands;  namely,  that  it  is 
possible  in  any  statute  to  provide  specifically  the  measures  to  be  taken 
for  the  protection  of  the  lives,  health,  and  safety  of  workers  in  each 
industry  and  under  all  conditions.  We  are  of  opinion  that  the  legisla- 
ture should  make  broad  and  general  requirements  for  safety  and 
sanitation,  setting  forth  where  practicable  minimum  requirements,  and 
delegating  to  some  responsible  authority  the  power  to  make  special 
rules  and  regulations  to  carry  the  provisions  of  the  statute  into  effect 
in  the  different  industries  and  under  varying  conditions. 

These  rules  and  regulation  should  be  collected  in  an  industrial 
code  that  could  be  enlarged  or  changed  with  comparative  ease  from 
time  to  time  as  occasion  might  require.  Such  a  principle  is  approved 
by  all  those  who  have  given  time  or  study  to  this  important  subject." 

In  1913  the  New  York  legislature  put  this  recommendation  into 
effect ;  and  the  New  York  example  was  immediately  copied  by  Pennsyl- 
vania. Massachusetts  and  California  in  1913  adopted  a  similar  prin- 
ciple. Wisconsin,  through  her  industrial  commission  law  in  1911 
(largely  copied  by  Ohio  in  1913)  set  the  standard  for  legislation  of 
this  type.  Rules  for  industry  were  to  be  made  by  the  industrial  com- 
mission after  a  hearing  and  were  to  be  reviewable  on  appeal  to  the 
courts  under  certain  conditions.  There  is  no  arbitrary  power  and 
every  legitimate  interest  is  properly  safeguarded. 

Several  plans  of  organization  are  possible,  if  the  labor  bureaus 
are  to  be  consolidated,  and  if  a  wide  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations 
is  vested  in  the  consolidated  department.  Upon  this  subject  the  follow- 
ing quotation  from  the  report  of  the  New  York  commission  is  of 
interest : 

"To  give  one  man,  namely  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  the  power 
to  make  rules  and  regulations,  would  be  entirely  out  of  the  question. 
This  power  is  too  great  to  entrust  safely  to  any  one  individual.  Two 
other  methods  were  suggested:  (1)  to  create  a  commission  at  the 
head  of  the  Department  of  Labor  in  place  of  the  present  single  com- 
missioner, with  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations  and  to  enforce 
them,  and  (2)  to  create  a  board  within  the  Department  of  Labor 
to  make  rules  and  regulations,  and  to  leave  the  Commissioner  of  Labor 
at  the  head  of  the  department  as  at  present,  with  full  power  to  enforce 
the  provisions  of  the  statute  and  the  rules  and  regulations  adopted  by 
the  board,  and  with   full  responsibility   for  their  enforcement." 

"The  Commission  has  carefully  considered  the  advantages  and 
disadvantages  of  each  plan.  We  have  found  that  there  are  advantages 
and  disadvantages  in  each,  but  after  careful  study  we  have  decided 
that  the  second  alternative  is  the  one  likely  to  produce  better  results 
in  the  state.  In  reaching  that  conclusion  we  were  guided  by  the  fol- 
lowing principles : 

1.  Responsibility  for  enforcement  of  law  must  be  definitely 
located. 

2.  Administrative  work  can  best  be  done  by  one  man. 

3.  Questions  involving  discretion  and  requiring  deliberation  are 
best  decided  by  a  body  of  men." 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  -  79 

"The  plan  we  propose  has  the  dehherative  advantages  of  com- 
mission government,  and  the  administrative  advantages  of  a  single 
head.  The  formation  of  a  board  to  make,  with  due  deliberation,  regu- 
lations that  shall  carry  into  effect  the  intent  and  purposes  of  the  law, 
will  secure  for  the  department  all  the  benefits  of  a  commission;  and 
the  retention  at  the  head  of  the  department,  of  a  single  commissioner 
to  enforce  the  law  and  the  regulations  adopted  thereunder,  will  prevent 
any  shifting  of  responsibility." 

"The  question  has  arisen,  whether  this  board  shall  be  merely  ad- 
visory and  its  conclusions  subject  to  veto  by  the  Commissioner  of 
Labor.  We  believe,  however,  that  such  veto  power  would  not  produce 
good  results.  Nevertheless,  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  not  be 
placed  in  a  subordinate  capacity,  but  should  be  chairman  of  this  board 
and  thus  have  an  important  voice  in  framing  the  rules  and  regulations 
upon  which  the  successful  administration  of  his  department  so  largely 
depends." 

There  are  four  possible  plans  of  organization:  (1)  The  Wis- 
consin plan,  where  the  executive  administration,  as  well  as  the  framing 
•of  rules,  is  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  commission  of  three  members.  This 
plan  is  open  to  the  objection  that  it  scatters  administrative  responsibility 
for  the  work  of  the  department.  (2)  The  plan  of  creating  a  board  by 
associating  with  the  head  of  the  department  of  labor  several  advisory 
members  who  do  not  give  their  whole  time  to  the  work  of  the  board. 
Advisory  boards,  performing  only  occasional  services,  have  not  in  gen- 
eral proven  satisfactory.  (3)  The  plan  of  creating  a  board  by 
associating  the  chiefs  of  the  several  labor  bureaus  with  the  head  of 
the  labor  department.  This  plan  has  advantages,  but  is  open  to  the 
objection  that  it  confers  independent  advisory  and  discretionary  func- 
tions upon  officers  who  are  administratively  subordinate  to  the  head  of 
the  labor  department.  (4)  The  plan  of  associating  with  the  head 
of  the  department,  two  deputies,  who  should  be  free  from  administra- 
tive duties  but  devote  their  whole  time  to  the  work  of  the  department, 
the  three  to  act  as  a  board  for  matters  requiring  discretionary  action. 
It  may  be  objected  to  this  plan  that  it  proposes  the  appointment  of 
two  important  officers  who  would  have  very  little  to  do.  Yet  these 
deputies  would  have  enough  to  do  if  they  (a)  acted  as  part  of  a  board 
in  compensation  cases,  in  passing  upon  matters  affecting  private  em- 
ployment agencies,  and  in  arbitration  matters  (b)  conducted  investiga- 
tions and  hearings  upon  matters  affecting  labor ;  and  acted  in  obtaining 
co-operation  by  employers  and  employees  in  drawing  up  rules  applicable 
to  particular  industries  (c)  acted  as  a  part  of  the  board  in  adopting 
rules  and  regulations.  A  more  serious  objection  is  the  one  that  friction 
may  result  from  having  two  officers  exercising  independent  powers  by 
the  side  of  the  head  of  the  department  of  labor ;  yet  the  possibility  of 
friction  is  hardly  as  great  as  under  the  Wisconsin  plan.  For  Illinois 
the  choice  seems  to  lie  between  the  third  and  fourth  plans  suggested 
above,  with  some  advantage  in  favor  of  the  fourth  plan. 

The  present  chief  factory  inspector  is  opposed  to  any  plan  which 
would  vest  in  him  a  large  discretion  as  to  what  rules  should  be  observed, 
and  such  a  discretion  clearly  should  not  in  any  case  be  vested  in  one 


80  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

individiuil.  Yet  at  present  a  wide  discretion  is  vested  in  the  factory 
inspector's  office  under  the  health,  safety  and  comfort  act  and  under 
the  occupational  diseases  act,  and  the  discretion  here  is  almost  neces- 
sarily in  fact  the  personal  discretion  of  the  individual  inspector  who 
inspects  a  particular  factory. 

Much  of  the  Illinois  legislation  is  either  too  rigid  or  too  indefinite. 
Where  rigid  and  detailed  standards  are  set  they  are  often  inapplicable 
to  particular  factories  (or  mines)  and  the  inspector  does  not  attempt 
to  enforce  them.  Where  no  definite  standard  is  fixed  the  inspector 
either  does  not  impose  one  (this  being  perhaps  the  more  frequent 
case)  or  he  exercises  an  uncontrolled  discretion,  in  first  instance,  in 
doing  so ;  of  course  the  standard  which  he  may  fix  in  such  a  case  is 
subject  to  review  by  the  courts,  but  judicial  training  devolops  no 
especial  competence  to  pass  upon  the  proper  safeguarding  of  machinery. 
The  health,  safety  and  comfort  act  provides  that  dangerous  places 
"where  practicable"  shall  be  enclosed  (Sec.  1),  that  poisonous  fumes 
or  gases  and  dusts  injurious  to  health  "shall  be  removed,  so  far  as 
practicable"  (Sec.  12),  and  that  in  factories,  etc.,  "sufficient  and  reason- 
able means  of  escape  in  case  of  fire  shall  be  provided"  (Sec.  14).  The 
occupational  diseases  act  provides  that  the  department  of  factory  in- 
spection shall  require  the  "installation  of  adequate  and  approved 
appliances"  (Sec.  12).  If  under  these  provisions  action  is  taken  by 
the  department  in  setting  a  standard  for  a  particular  factory,  such 
action  is  reviewable  only  through  a  court  proceeding.  Greater  efficiency 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  factory  department  and  a  more  adequate 
safeguarding  of  the  rights  of  the  employer  will  be  obtained  by  vesting 
in  a  commission  (acting  under  proper  safeguards)  power  to  fix  general 
standards  for  each  industry.  Under  this  plan  the  powers  of  individual 
inspectors  to  fix  different  standards  for  factories  in  substantially  the 
same  condition  would  largely  disappear. 

In  order  to  control  more  effectively  power  granted  to  a  commission 
to  make  rides,  the  General  Assembly  in  conferring  such  power  may 
properly  ( 1 )  fix  in  important  matters  certain  maximum  or  minimum 
standards  limiting  the  authority  of  the  commission;  (2)  require  that 
rules  made  by  the  commission  be  submitted  at  the  next  succeeding 
session  of  the  General  Assembly.  Rules  thought  improper  by  the 
General  Assembly  could  then  be  repealed. 

(3)  A  man  familiar  with  labor  administration  in  Illinois  has 
recently  said  that  the  mining  legislation  is  effective  only  so  far  as  it 
is  enforced  by  agreements  between  employers  and  employees.  This 
statement  may  not  be  altogether  true,  yet  it  is  true  that  the  enforce- 
ment of  safeguards  in  industry  must  depend  primarily  upon  the  em- 
ployer and  employee  rather  than  upon  state  inspection.  An  inspection 
force,  no  matter  how  large,  cannot  enforce  in  detail  all  requirements 
now  imposed  by  labor  legislation  in  Illinois.  Under  the  Wisconsin  In- 
dustrial Commission  law,  an  eff"ective  administration  has  been  made 
possible  by  the  fact  that  committees  of  employers  and  employees  have 
been  appointed  for  each  industry  to  work  out  safety  rules  for  that 
industry.  The  framing  of  such  rules  has  been  in  itself  an  education 
regarding  the  need  for  the  rules  framed.     But  such  co-operation  be- 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


81 


tween  employer  and  employee  cannot  be  obtained  without  some  degree 
of  centralization  in  the  enforcement  of  labor  laws,  and  some  flexibility 
in  the  rules  to  be  framed.  In  one  or  two  cases  factory  inspectors  in 
Illinois  have  already  made  successful  efforts  to  work  out,  in  co-opera- 
tion with  employers,  standards  for  particular  industries,  but  little  can 
be  expected  in  this  field  without  a  reorganization  of  the  officers 
administering  the  labor  laws. 
Present  Situation  in  Illinois. 

According  to  the  census  of  1910  there  were  in  1909,  18,026  manu- 
facturing establishments  in  Illinois  employing  465,764  wage  earners. 
Of  these,  9,656  establishments,  employing  293,977  wage  earners,  were 
in  Chicago.  There  were  in  the  same  year  470  bituminous  coal  mines, 
employing  74,445  wage  earners.  For  the  enforcement  of  the  health, 
safety  and  other  labor  laws  with  respect  to  these  and  other  employ- 
ments there  are  thirty  state  factory  inspectors  (and  a  chief  inspector) 
and  twelve  state  mining  inspectors.  The  factory  inspectors  operate 
mainly  in  Cook  County  and  the  mine  inspectors  entirely  outside  of 
that  county.  For  the  enforcement  of  safety  appliances  on  railroads, 
safety  inspectors  (two  at  present)  are  provided  under  the  public 
utilities  commission,^"  who  largely  duplicate  work  done  under  federal 
law.  Under  the  food  inspection  act  of  1911,  state  food  inspectors  are 
required  to  enforce  sanitary  conditions  for  employees  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  foodstuffs.  In  earlier  parts  of  this  report  reference  has  been 
made  to  the  powers  of  the  board  of  health  under  the  occupational 
diseases  act;  and  the  powers  of  local  school,  health,  building,  and  other 
authorities  under  other  acts  relating  to  conditions  in  factories  or  other 
work. 

The  following  statement  shows  the  various  authorities  for  the 
administration  of  labor  legislation,  the  number  of  persons  employed, 
and  the  salaries  and  appropriations  for  the  two  years  1913-15 : 

Salaries  and 
Number  Appropriations 

Employed  1913-15 

Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics   (and  Commis- 
sioners of  Labor) 12  $  28.655 

Inspector  of  Private  Employment  Agencies.  10  30,740 

Free  Employment  Offices  (8) 42  108,670 

Factory   Inspection   Department 46  164,820 

Industrial   Board 8  79,600 

Board  of  Arbitration 4  14,000 

State  Mining  Board  and  Mine  Inspectors.  .  23  103,800 

Miners'  Examining  Board 3  16,200 

Mine  Rescue  Commission 14  95,7C0 

Mining  Investigation   Commission 10,000 

Miners'  and  Mechanics'  Institutes 30,000 

Total 162  $682,185 

i^Illinois    Laws,    1913,    p.    508. 


82  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

The  only  revenue  producing  offices  are  the  miners'  examining  board 
and  the  office  of  the  chief  inspector  of  private  employment  agencies. 
The  miners'  examining  board  has  just  been  established  as  a  state  board. 
In  the  year  1912-13  the  revenue  from  private  employment  agencies  was 
$15,825. 

Several  of  these  offices  (the  three  first  listed  above)  are  sub- 
ordinated to  a  small  extent  to  the  commissioners  of  labor,  but  other- 
wise each  is  independent  in  its  own  sphere.  Moreover,  the  free  em- 
ployment offices  are  entirely  independent  of  each  other.  As  to  accident 
reporting  to  the  various  offices,  the  situation  is  especially  confused,  and 
accident  reports  in  this  state  are  incomplete  and  of  little  value. 

The  state  miners'  examining  board,  created  in  1913,  examines 
miners,  while  the  state  mining  board  examines  mine  officers.  There  is 
no  satisfactory  reason  for  two  entirely  independent  boards.  The  board 
of  arbitration  has  little  to  do,  and  its  powers  may  well  be  bestowed 
upon  some  other  board.  Discretionary  functions,  which  should  properly 
be  handled  by  a  board,  are  exercised  by  the  commissioners  of  labor 
(especially  with  reference  to  the  revocation  of  licenses  of  private  em- 
ployment agencies),  by  the  board  of  arbitration,  and  by  the  industrial 
board  (in  hearing  contests  regarding  compensation).  All  of  these 
discretionary  functions  may  easily  and  more  efficiently  be  exercised 
by  one  board. 

Under  present  legislation,  moreover,  there  has  been  no  adjustment 
of  salaries  to  the  work  done.  Factory  inspectors  receive  $1,200,  in- 
spectors of  private  employment  agencies  $1,500,  and  state  mine  in- 
spectors $1,800.  The  character  of  work  does  not  justify  these 
differences,  and  here  there  must  be  some  leveling  up,  if  efficient  in- 
spectors are  to  be  obtained.  The  chief  inspector  of  private  employment 
agencies  receives  $3,600,  while  the  chief  of  the  factory  inspection 
department,  a  much  more  important  officer,  receives  $3,000.  The 
commissioners  of  labor  receive  $150  a  year,  for  which  they  are  called 
upon  to  do  more  than  the  members  of  the  board  of  arbitration  who 
receive  $1,500  a  year.  The  secretary  of  the  board  of  arbitration  re- 
ceives the  same  salary  ($2,500)  as  the  secretary  of  the  commissioners 
of  labor  (the  executive  officer  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics),  yet 
one  office  has  apparently  had  few  duties  while  the  other  requires 
continuous  service. 

An  even  more  serious  situation  exists  with  reference  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  officers  administering  labor  legislation.  The  civil  service  law 
exempts  from  its  terms  officers  appointed  by  the  Governor,  subject 
to  confirmation  by  the  Senate.  The  Attorney  General  has  ruled  ap- 
parently that  this  exempts  all  officers  who  were  by  law  to  be  appointed 
by  the  Governor.  The  superintendent,  assistant  superintendent  and  a 
clerk  of  each  free  employment  office  are  appointed  by  the  Governor 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  and  are  clearly  exempt 
from  civil  service,  as  are  also  members  of  the  board  of  arbitration, 
state  mining  board,  miners'  examining  board,  industrial  board  and 
commissioners  of  labor.  Under  the  terms  of  the  law,  the  mine  rescue 
commission  is  appointed  by  the  Governor  alone.  The  chief  inspector 
of  private  employment  agencies,  the  chief  factory  inspector,  the  factory 


LABOR    AND    MINING.  83 

inspectors  and  several  other  officers  of  the  factory  inspection  depart- 
ment, and  state  mine  inspectprs,  were  by  law  made  appointive  by  the 
Governor,  and  are  exempt  from  civil  service  under  the  Attorney 
General's  ruling.  For  mine  inspectors  the  state  mining  board  conducts 
an  examination  and  appointments  are  for  a  two-year  term.  The 
clerical  forces  are  appointed  under  the  civil  service  law,  as  are  also 
deputy  inspectors  of  private  employment  agencies,  and  the  secretaries 
of  the  board  of  arbitration  and  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  How- 
ever, there  is  for  the  body  of  technical  positions  no  guaranty  of  technical 
efficiency  or  permanence  of  tenure. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  various  offices  do  not  cover  the  same 
period.  Reports  for  the  year  ending  June  30  are  now  made  by  the 
chief  state  factory  inspector,  by  the  inspector  of  private  employment 
agencies,  by  the  state  mining  board,  and  reports  for  the  same  period 
are  to  be  made  by  the  industrial  board.  Reports  of  the  free  employ- 
ment offices  are  made  for  the  year  ending  September  30,  the  report  of 
the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  on  accidents  is  made  for  the  year  ending 
December  31,  and  the  report  of  the  miners'  examining  board  is  to  be 
made  on  the  first  day  of  March,  so  that  the  results  shown  by  these 
reports  are  not  comparable  with  those  of  the  other  offices. 

Under  present  legislation  in  Illinois  it  is  natural  that  no  systematic 
effort  should  have  been  made  to  view  the  labor  problem  as  a  whole 
and  to  co-ordinate  the  activities  of  all  the  state  offices.  A  number  of 
the  less  important  laws  are  not  committed  to  any  one  of  the  present 
offices  for  enforcement.  The  best  single  piece  of  individual  investiga- 
tion of  a  labor  problem  in  this  state  was  done,  not  by  a  permanent 
office,  but  by  the  special  commission  on  occupational  diseases. 

Recommendations. 

(1)  That  all  labor  bureaus  and  offices  be  consolidated  into  a 
Department  of  Labor  and  Mining  which  should  have  the  following 
bureaus  or  divisions : 

(a)  Bureau  of  Statistics. 

(b)  Bureau  of  Inspection,  to  cover  the  work  now  under- 

taken by  the  factory  inspection  department. 

(c)  Bureau  of  employment,  to  operate  public  employment 

offices  and  to  inspect  private  employment  agencies. 

(d)  Bureau  of  Workmen's  Compensation. 

(e)  Bureau  of  Arbitration  and  Mediation. 

(f)  Division  of  Mining. 

Much  may  be  said  for  the  plan  of  organizing  an  industrial  com- 
mission and  giving  it  full  power  to  create  bureaus  and  appoint  its 
subordinates.  From  a  practical  standpoint,  however,  it  will  probably 
be  necessary  to  provide  by  statute  for  bureaus  to  perform  functions 
now  performed  by  existing  bureaus  and  offices.  It  would  be  desirable 
to  give  the  commission  power  to  create  new  bureaus,  and  transfer 
functions  and  officers  from  one  bureau  to  another.  The  commission 
should  also  have  some  power  to  determine  the  salaries  of  its  sub- 
ordinates, and  the  number  of  employees  to  be  used  in  several  bureaus. 


84  EFFICIENCY   AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

Much  of  the  administrative  detail  now  in  the  statutes  should  be 
omitted.  This  is  especially  true  with  respect  to  free  employment  offices 
and  the  inspection  of  private  employment  agencies. 

(2)  That  the  department  of  labor  be  under  a  commissioner  as 
an  administrative  head ;  that  each  bureau  be  under  a  single  chief  of 
bureau.  The  division  of  mining  should  have  a  secretary,  as  executive 
officer,  and  a  State  mining  board  to  exercise  the  powers  of  the  several 
mining  boards.  For  an  outline  of  suggestions  with  respect  to  mining, 
see  pp.  64-67. 

(3)  That  two  deputies  to  the  commissioner  of  labor  be  provided, 
they  with  the  commissioner  to  act  as  an  industrial  commission  for  the 
functions  which  more  properly  require  board  action.  The  deputies 
should  also  have  power  individually  to  hold  hearings  and  investigations 
upon  matters  affecting  labor  or  any  of  the  laws  committed  to  the  de- 
partment of  labor  for  enforcement. 

(4)  To  the  commissioner  and  deputies  as  a  board  should  be 
granted  wide  power  to  make  regulations  governing  conditions  of  labor, 
such  regulations  to  be  made  after  hearing,  and  subject  to  court  review 
as  in  Wisconsin.  This  would  be  no  more  open  to  constitutional  ob- 
jection than  is  the  delegation  of  rate-making  power  to  the  public 
utilities  commission.     If  such  power  is  conferred,  there  should  in  any 

•  re-enactment  of  present  labor  laws,  be  a  provision  that  the  present 
detailed  statutory  regulations  shall  remain  in  force  until  the  subjects 
in  each  particular  case  have  been  covered  by  regulations  issued  under 
the  authority  of  the  new  department  of  labor. 

(5)  Each  person  inspecting  factories,  etc.,  under  one  law  should 
have  full  authority  to  enforce  all  labor  laws.  The  penalties  imposed 
under  the  several  laws  should  be  more  uniform  than  at  present. 

If  carried  out,  these  recommendations  would  permit  an  adjust- 
ment so  far  as  concerns  the  present  situation  with  respect  to  accident 
reporting,  and  would  make  necessary  some  co-ordinated  management 
of  public  employment  offices.  In  addition  it  would  make  it  possible 
to  work  out  an  effective  administration  of  labor  legislation  as  a  whole. 

It  should  be  suggested,  however,  that  much  of  the  advantage  of 
a  consolidation  of  labor  offices  will  be  lost  unless  arrangements  are 
at  the  same  time  made  for  the  housing  together  of  related  bureaus. 
The  scattered  location  of  the  present  offices  is  such  as  to  make  co- 
operation difficult,  were  such  co-operation  sought.  The  offices  of  the 
factory  inspection  department,  industrial  board,  and  chief  inspector 
of  private  employment  agencies  are  in  Chicago,  and  each  is  in  a 
different  building.  The  secretary  of  the  state  board  of  arbitration  also 
has  an  office  in  Chicago.  The  mining  boards  and  the  bureau  of  labor 
statistics  (with  what  supervision  exists  over  free  employment  offices) 
are  in  Springfield.  For  a  consolidated  department  all  of  the  central 
offices  should  be  in  one  building ;  and  if  particular  bureaus  require 
offices  in  other  parts  of  the  state,  all  of  such  branch  offices  in  any  one 
city  should  be  in  the  same  building.  This  statement,  however,  should 
not  apply  to  free  employment  offices,  where  it  is  desirable  to  have 
several  offices  in  the  same  city. 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


85 


(6)  The  enforcement  provisions  of  some  of  the  laws  should 
be  made  more  effective,  as,  for  example,  by  so  amending  the  hours 
of  labor  law  for  women  as  to  penalize  the  obstructing  of  an  inspector. 

(7)  Attention  has  been  called  in  a  number  of  places  throughout 
this  report  to  defects  in  the  substance  of  legislation.  So,  for  example, 
with  respect  to  child  labor  laws,  a  medical  certificate  should  be  required 
of  children  where  there  is  no  evidence  of  age  except  the  parent's 
statement,  children  between  the  ages  of  14  and  16  should  be  required 
to  read  and  write  in  English  before  being  given  certificates  entitling 
them  to  work,  and  a  duty  should  be  imposed  upon  inspectors  to  require 
medical  certificates  of  children  between  14  and  16  who  appear  to  be 
physically  unable  to  work.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  work  of  this 
committee  is  that  of  dealing  with  administrative  organization  and 
methods,  it  would  hardly  be  wise  to  attempt  a  thoroughgoing  revision 
of  the  substance  of  labor  laws. 

If  the  plan  here  recommended  is  adopted,  the  expense  of  the  new 
organization  will  probably  be  equally  as  great  as  that  under  the  present 
organization.  Of  the  general  labor  boards  whose  abolition  is  recom- 
mended, the  members  of  the  board  of  arbitration  receive  $4,500,  the 
members  of  the  industrial  board,  $12,000;  and  the  commissioners  of 
labor  $750.  The  commissioner  of  labor  and  his  deputies  (under  the 
plan  recommended)  should  receive  rather  large  salaries,  and  a  chief 
of  the  compensation  bureau  must  replace  the  present  industrial  board. 
The  salaries  for  new  offices  would  therefore,  probably  equal  those  of 
the  abolished  positions. 

Substantially  the  same  statement  will  hold  as  to  the  recommenda- 
tions with  respect  to  a  reorganization  of  mining  services.  It  is  recom- 
mended that  the  mine  rescue  commission  be  abolished,  but  this  is  a 
per  diem  commission  the  payment  of  whose  members  does  not  consti- 
tute a  heavy  expense.  It  has  been  recommended  also  that  the  miners' 
examining  board  be  abolished  as  an  independent  board,  but  an  equal 
cost  must  be  incurred  by  the  establishment  of  a  subordinate  board  to 
conduct  examinations  of  miners.  With  respect  to  the  reorganization 
of  mining  services  it  has  already  been  suggested  that  an  increased 
expense  to  the  state  treasury  (but  not  an  increased  total  expense)  will 
be  incurred  by  the  abolition  of  county  mine  inspectors  and  the 
increase  in  the  number  of  state  mine  inspectors. 

This  statement  regarding  relative  expense  leaves  entirely  out  of 
account  any  changes  which  may  result  from  a  proposed  equalization  of 
salaries  throughout  the  whole  state  service. 

Legislative  Methods  of  Carrying  the  Above  Recommendations  into 
Effect. 

The  present  labor  legislation  of  Illinois  is  scattered  through  a 
number  of  acts,  and  each  office  or  bureau  is  vested  with  certain 
powers  by  the  act  creating  it.  To  centralize  the  administration  of 
labor  laws,  will,  therefore,  require  the  changing  of  provisions  now 
found  in  at  least  eight  separate  acts.  If  the  substance  of  legislation 
is  not  to  be  materially  changed  the  problem  here  is  to  create  a  new 
organization  and  to  carry  over  to  this  new  organization  all  powers 
now  vested  in  a  number  of  independent  offices  by  different  laws, 


86  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

The  constitution  provides  that  "no  law  shall  be  revised  or  amended 
by  reference  to  its  title  only,  but  the  law  revised  or  the  section  amended, 
shall  be  inserted  at  length  in  the  new  act" ;  and  also  that  "no  act  here- 
after passed  shall  embrace  more  than  one  subject  and  that  shall  be 
expressed  in  the  title."  A  single  act,  providing  for  a  new  organization 
and  carrying  over  to  the  new  organization  the  substance  of  present 
legislation  as  embodied  in  a  number  of  acts,  would  pretty  clearly  be 
unconstitutional  because  not  complete  in  itself.'^ 

It  may  be  possible  to  embody  the  new  organization  in  one  act, 
and  then  in  the  same  act,  by  separate  sections,  to  amend  each  of  the 
present  acts  in  its  enforcement  provision,  setting  out  in  full  the  section 
of  each  such  act  as  amended.  But  this  would  be  opposed  to  the  spirit 
of  the  constitution,  by  amending  a  number  of  separate  acts  in  terms 
by  one  amending  act,  and  would  probably  be  defeated  on  the  ground 
that  more  than  one  subject  is  embraced  in  an  act  which  amends  a 
number  of  previous  laws,  even  though  these  laws  relate  generally  to 
the  same  subject.^* 

The  choice  of  procedure,  then,  lies  between  (1)  a  series  of  specific 
bills,  one  creating  the  new  organization,  and  one  for  the  amendment 
of  each  specific  act  whose  enforcement  provisions  are  being  changed, 
or  (2)  a  complete  re-enactment  or  revision  of  the  labor  laws  of  the 
state.  The  first  plan  presents  a  difficulty  in  that  it  submits  the  pro- 
posed changes  piecemeal  to  the  General  Assembly.  The  second  plan 
is  essential  if  many  changes  are  to  be  made  in  the  substance  of  the 
present  legislation,  and  a  re-enactment  will  be  the  most  feasible  method 
of  making  the  administrati\e  changes  even  though  few  changes  of 
substance  are  contemplated. 

The  report  as  prepared  deals  primarily  with  labor  legislation 
which  is  now  committed  to  some  administrative  authority  for  enforce- 
ment or  which  should  be  so  committed.  There  are  a  number  of  other 
laws  relating  to  labor  which  have,  therefore,  not  been  discussed.  Of 
laws  of  this  character  printed  in  the  recent  compilation  issued  by  the 
bureau  of  labor  statistics,  the  following  may  be  mentioned :  apprentices 
(p.  9)  ;  boycotting  and  blacklisting  (p.  37)  ;  legal  day  in  absence  of 
contract  (p.  49)  ;  permitting  women  to  engage  in  any  lawful  occupa- 
tion (p.  50)  ;  garnishment  (pp.  82.  90)  ;  mechanics'  liens  (p.  121)  ; 
payment  of  wages  (pp.  174,  257-260,  263,  264)  ;  wage  loan  corpora- 
tions (p.  260).  ' 

The  question  presents  itself  as  to  whether  the  redraft  should  in- 
clude merely  the  laws  enforcible  through  administrative  machinery,  or 
should  include  all  labor  laws  of  the  state,  whether  enforced  by  the 
administrative  organization  or  merely  by  judicial  proceedings. 

The  redraft  is  being  made  primarily  in  connection  with  a  proposed 
administrative  reorganization,  and  for  this  purpose  it  is  unnecessary 
to  include  laws  not  to  be  enforced  by  the  administrative  authorities. 
On  the  other  hand  it  is  desirable  to  have  all  the  labor  legislation  con- 
solidated into  one  act,  so  that  any  one  may  find  all  the  law  upon  this 
subject  easily.    Moreover,  the  legislation  not  enforcible  by  administra- 

"People  ex  rel  Cant  v.  Crossley,  261   111.   78;   Brooks  v.   Hatch,  261    111.   179. 
"See  Kennedy  v.  LeMoyne,   188  111.  255. 


LABOR    AND    MINING. 


87 


tive  authority  is  relatively  small  in  bulk  as  compared  with  that  so 
enforcible.  For  these  reasons  it  seems  desirable  to  place  all  labor 
legislation  in  one  bill. 

If  all  labor  legislation  is  to  go  into  one  bill  the  question  presents 
itself  as  to  what  shall  be  excluded  and  what  included.  Wage  loan 
corporations  bear  a  close  relation  to  the  subject  of  labor  yet  this 
relation  seems  hardly  close  enough  to  justify  the  inclusion  of  legisla- 
tion relating  to  this  subject.  The  subject  of  apprentices  bears  an  even 
closer  relation,  but  raises  problems  involving  the  substance  of  legisla- 
tion in  such  a  manner  that  its  inclusion  would  hardly  be  desirable.  The 
apprentice  and  wage  loan  corporation  acts  are  sufficiently  distinct  to 
be  left  to  themselves.  The  same  statement  is  true  of  garnishment 
and  mechanics'  liens.  If  these  laws  are  excluded  from  a  redraft,  the 
other  laws  enumerated  above  (and  other  similar  laws  found  in  the 
statutes)  may  well  be  included. 


88  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 


XL     SUMMARY  OF  RECENT  LEGISLATION  IN  OTHER 

STATES 

A  summary  is  here  presented  of  some  of  the  more  important 
recent  legislations  of  other  states.  Wisconsin  and  Ohio  on  the  one  side, 
and  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  on  the  other,  present  two  types  of 
organization  for  consolidated  labor  departments.  In  both  types  the 
two  objects  are  sought:  (1)  of  uniting  labor  services  under  one  con- 
trol; (2)  of  permitting  flexibility  in  the  regulations  to  be  applied  to 
labor  conditions. 

In  the  other  states  here  discussed  these  two  objects  have  not 
been  accomplished.  Massachusetts,  California  and  Oregon  have 
sought  to  provide  flexibility  as  to  rules  to  be  administered,  but  without 
consolidating  their  various  labor  services.  Kansas  has  concentrated 
the  administrative  organization,  but  without  introducing  any  flexibility 
in  the  body  of  rules  to  be  administered  by  that  organization. 

The  Wisconsin  law  has  been  longest  in  operation,  and  has  to  a  very 
large  extent  accomplished  the  three-fold  purpose:  (1)  of  co-ordinating 
the  administration  of  all  labor  laws ;  (2)  of  providing  a  flexible  body  of 
rules  better  adapted  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  state;  and  (3)  of  obtain- 
ing co-operation  between  employers  and  employees.  Nothing  appears 
in  the  Wisconsin  law  which  requires  the  commission  to  work  out 
rules  and  regulations  in  co-operation  with  employers  and  employees  in 
the  various  industries,  but  such  co-operation  has  been  obtained,  and  is 
expressly  authorized  in  the  Wisconsin  law  by  a  provision  authorizing 
the  commission  "to  appoint  advisers  who  shall  without  compensation 
assist  the  industrial  commission  in  the  execution  of  its  duties.'' 

The  Wisconsin  Industrial  Conimission. 

In  1911  the  legislature  of  Wisconsin  adopted  a  law  creating  an 
industrial  commission  and  consolidating  in  its  hands  the  functions  for- 
merly exercised  by  the  bureau  of  factory  inspection,  the  board  of 
arbitration  and  conciliation  and  the  state  liability  board  of  awards. 
The  latter  board  had  been  established  in  the  same  year  by  the  work- 
men's compensation  law.  Numerous  other  departments  and  bureaus 
concerned  with  the  administration  of  the  labor  laws  were  abolished 
and  their  powers  vested  in  the  newly  created  commission. 

The  commission  is  composed  of  three  members,  appointed  by 
the  governor  for  a  term  of  six  years.  The  commission  may  appoint 
and  remove  deputies,  clerks  and  other  assistants  and  may  assign  its 
employees  to  their  duties  and  fix  their  compensation.  The  number  of 
employees  shall  not  exceed  "the  number  now  employed  in  the  bureau 
of  industrial  and  labor  statistics  except  on  certificate  of  the  governor 
filed  with  the  secretary  of  state,  that  such  additional  employee  is  neces- 
sary to  the  work  of  the  commission."    The  commission  has  the  further 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  89 

power  of  appointing  advisors  who  shall  assist  the  commission  in 
carrying  out  its  investigations,  and  give  advice  and  make  recommenda- 
tions to  the  commission  when  called  upon  to  do  so.  The  commission 
may  appoint  any  deputy  a  special  prosecutor  in  any  case  arising  under 
the  labor  laws  or  the  rules  of  the  commission. 

Before  defining  the  powers  o^  the  commission  the  act  provides 
certain  general  rules  of  conduct  for  employers.  Every  employer  is 
directed  to  furnish  a  safe  employment,  to  provide  a  safe  place  of 
employment  for  employees  therein  and  frequenters  thereof,  and  to 
adopt  such  safety  devices  as  may  be  reasonably  adequate  to  protect  the 
safety  and  welfare  of  his  employees.  No  employer  shall  permit  an 
employee  to  enter  a  place  that  is  not  safe  and  no  employee  shall  remove, 
damage  or  destroy  any  safety  device  or  prevent  its  use  by  any  other 
person.  Every  employer  or  owner  is  directed  to  so  construct,  repair 
and  maintain  places  of  employment  or  public  buildings  as  to  render 
the  same  safe.  Finally  every  employer  is  required  to  furnish  informa- 
tion to  the  commission  and  to  answer,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  "any 
question  that  may  be  propounded  by  the  commission." 

The  general  power  of  the  commission  is  stated  in  the  following 
terms:  "The  industrial  commission  is  vested  with  power  and  juris- 
diction to  have  such  supervision  of  every  employment  and  of  every 
place  of  employment  and  public  building  in  this  state  as  may  be  neces- 
sary to  enforce  and  administer  all  laws  and  all  lawful  orders  of  the 
commission  requiring  such  employment,  place  of  employment  or  public 
building  to  be  safe,  and  requiring  the  protection  of  the  life,  health, 
safety  and  welfare  of  every  employee  in  every  such  employment  or 
place  of  employment  and  every  frequenter  of  such  place  of  employment 
and  the  safety  of  the  public  or  tenants  in  any  such  public  building." 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  commission  "to  administer  and  enforce  so 
far  as  not  otherwise  provided  for  in  the  statutes  the  laws  relating 
to  child  labor,  laundries,  stores,  employment  of  females,  licensed  occu- 
pations, school  attendance,  bakeries,  employment  ofltices,  intelligence 
offices  and  bureaus,  manufactures  of  cigars,  sweatshops,  corn  shredders, 
wood  sawing  machines,  fire  escapes  and  means  of  egress  from  build- 
ings, scaffolds,  hoists,  ladders  and  other  matters  relating  to  the  erection, 
alteration,  repair  or  painting  of  buildings  and  structures,  and  all  other 
laws  protecting  the  life,  health,  safety,  and  welfare  of  employes  in 
employments  and  places  of  employment  and  frequenters  of  places  of 
employment." 

As  suggested  above  the  duty  to  provide  safe  employment  is  im- 
posed in  general  terms  upon  the  employer.  Power  is  then  vested  in 
the  commission  to  work  out  the  rules  applicable  to  different  circum- 
stances and  conditions.  The  commission  is  expressly  authorized  :  "To 
investigate,  ascertain,  declare  and  prescribe  what  safety  devices,  safe- 
guards or  other  means  or  methods  of  protection  are  best  adapted  to 
render  the  employes  of  every  employment  and  place  of  employment  and 
frequenters  of  every  place  of  employment  safe,  and  to  protect  their 
welfare  as  required  by  law  or  lawful  orders,  and  to  establish  and  main- 
tain museums  of  safety  and  hygiene  in  which  shall  be  exhibited  safety 
devices,  safeguards  and  other  means  and  methods  for  the  protection 
of  life,  health,  safety  and  welfare  of  employes." 


90  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

"To  ascertain  and  fix  such  reasonable  standards  and  to  prescribe, 
modify  and  enforce  such  reasonable  orders  for  the  adoption  of  safety 
devices,  safeguards  and  other  means  or  methods  of  protection  to  be  as 
nearly  uniform  as  possible,  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry  out  all  laws 
and  lawful  orders  relative  to  the  protection  of  the  life,  health  and  safety 
and  welfare  of  employes  in  employments  and  places  of  employment  or 
freqiienters  of  places  of  employment." 

"To  ascertain,  fix  and  order  such  reasonable  standards,  rules  or 
regulations  for  the  construction,  repair  and  maintenance  of  places  of 
employment  and  public  buildings,  as  shall  render  them  safe." 

"To  investigate,  ascertain  and  determine  such  reasonable  classifica- 
tions of  persons,  employments,  places  of  employment  and  public  build- 
ings, as  shall  be  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  this  law." 

The  term  "safety"  is  broadly  defined  in  the  act  as  "such  freedom 
from  danger  to  the  life,  health,  safety  or  welfare  ...  as  the 
nature  of  the  employment     .      .     .     will  reasonably  permit." 

Upon  its  own  motion  or  upon  petition  the  commission  may  investi- 
gate any  employment,  place  of  employment  or  public  building,  and 
"after  such  hearing  enter  such  order  as  may  be  necessary  to  render 
such  employment,  place  of  employment  or  public  building  safe."  All 
orders  so  issued  are  prima  facie  reasonable  and  lawful  and  shall  be  in 
force  until  altered  by  the  commission  or  set  aside  by  the  courts.  The 
commission  is  empowered  to  make  rules  to  govern  its  proceedings  and 
"to  regulate  the  mode  and  manner  of  all  investigations  and  hearings." 
The  order-making  power  of  the  commission  does  not  interfere  with 
the  power  of  any  city  or  village  to  make  regulations  of  the  same  char- 
acter save  where  such  local  regulations  are  in  conflict  with  the  rules  of 
the  commission. 

If  any  employer  or  other  person  interested  wishes  to  raise  the 
question  of  the  reasonableness  of  any  order  of  the  commission  he  may 
do  so  by  petition  to  the  commission.  This  petition  shall  set  forth  in  full 
detail  the  reasons  why  such  order  is  unreasonable  and  any  objection  not 
raised  in  the  petition  shall  be  deemed  to  be  waived.  The  commission 
may  grant  or  refuse  a  hearing  upon  the  petition.  If  the  commission 
refuses  a  hearing,  or  if  upon  hearing  it  sustains  its  former  determina- 
tion the  petitioner  may  proceed  in  court  against  the  commission.  Any 
person  aft'ected  by  any  local  order  may  also  petition  for  a  hearing  on 
the  ground  that  the  order  in  question  is  unreasonable  and  in  conflict 
with  the  orders  of  the  commission.  Upon  receipt  of  the  petition  the 
commission  shall  hold  a  hearing  in  the  city  or  village  where  the  ques- 
tion has  arisen  and  may  after  such  hearing  modify  its  own  order  or 
substitute  for  the  local  order  appealed  from  such  order  as  shall  be 
reasonable. 

After  a  petition  for  hearing  has  been  denied  or -after  an  unfavor- 
able decision  by  the  commission  on  such  hearing  "any  employer,  owner 
or  other  person  in  interest  being  dissatisfied  with  any  order  of  the  com- 
mission may  commence  an  action  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Dane  County 
against  the  commission  as  defendant  to  vacate  and  set  aside  such 
order  on  the  ground  that  the  order  is  unlawful,  or  that  any  such  order 
is  unreasonable."    If  it  appears  on  trial  of  such  action  that  the  issues 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


91 


raised  have  not  come  before  the  commission  the  court  shall  transmit  to 
the  commission  a  full  statement  of  such  issues  and  stay  proceedings 
for  fifteen  days  awaiting  further  decision  of  the  commission.  The 
commission  shall  report  its  determination  of  the  issues  presented  to  the 
court,  which  shall  then  proceed  with  the  action. 

Acting  under  the  powers  here  outlined  the  commission  has  exer- 
cised its  rule-making  authority  somewhat  as  follows :  It  established 
an  advisory  committee  on  safety  and  sanitation  which  was  composed 
of  representatives  from  the  State  Federation  of  Labor,  the  Milwaukee 
Merchants'  and  Manufacturers'  Association,  Milwaukee  Health  De- 
partment, Wisconsin  Manufacturers'  Association,  Employers'  Mutual 
Liability  Company,  and  the  Industrial  Commission.  Sub-committees 
were  organized  composed  of  manufacturers,  technical  experts,  repre- 
sentatives of  labor  and  of  the  commission,  on  the  subjects  of  elevators, 
boilers,  electricity,  sanitation,  safety  exhibit,  and  bakeries. 

The  committees  thus  constituted  proceeded  to  make  their  investi- 
gations, to  draw  up  tentative  rules  and  to  submit  them  to  the  commis- 
sion for  public  hearings.  After  the  hearings  the  rules  were  referred 
back  to  the  committee  for  further  inspection,  and  finally,  when 
completed,  they  were  issued  by  the  commission  as  "general  orders" 
applying  to  the  entire  state,  and  published  in  the  official  paper  and 
the  bulletins  of  the  commission.  The  violators  of  such  orders  cannot 
contest  the  reasonableness  of  the  orders  when  prosecuted,  but  the 
legality  of  the  orders  can  be  tested  only  in  a  proceeding  against  the  com- 
mission as  provided  in  the  act. 

The  commission  is  directed  to  do  all  in  its  power  to  promote  vol- 
untary arbitration  of  labor  disputes.  It  shall  appoint  one  deputy  who 
shall  be  known  as  "chief  mediator,"  appoint  temporary  boards  of 
mediation,  make  rules  for  the  procedure  of  such  boards  and  fix  the 
compensation  of  members.  Furthermore  the  commission  is  charged 
with  the  establishment  of  free  employment  bureaus  and  with  the  investi- 
gation of  unemployment.  An  amendment  to  the  act,  passed  in  1913, 
empowers  the  commission  to  oversee  private  employment  offices,  to  issue 
licenses  for  the  maintenance  of  such  offices,  to  inspect  the  books,  con- 
tracts and  registers  of  such  offices,  and  to  revoke  the  license  of  any 
office  for  cause.  Finally,  the  board  is  directed  to  collect  statistics  and 
make  reports  concerning  the  work  under  its  jurisdiction. 

The  Industrial  Commission  of  Ohio. 

In  1913  the  Ohio  legislature  created  an  industrial  commission  and 
centralized  in  its  hands  the  functions  formerly  exercised  by  the  state 
liability  board  of  awards,  the  state  board  of  arbitration  and  conciliation, 
the  board  of  boiler  rules,  the  commissioner  of  labor,  the  chief  inspector 
of  mines,  the  chief  inspector  of  workshops  and  factories,  and  the  chief 
examiner  of  steam  engines.  The  Ohio  act  is  modelled  after  the  Wis- 
consin industrial  commission  law,  many  sections  of  which  are  copied 
verbatim. 

The  Ohio  commission  is  composed  of  three  members,  appointed 
by  the  governor  for  a  term  of  six  years  at  a  salary  of  $5,000  a  year. 
Each  member  of  the  commission  is  forbidden  to  hold  any  position  of 
trust  or  profit  that  will  interfere  with  the  performance  of  his  duties  as 


92  EFFICIEiNCY   AND   ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

commissioner  and  is  required  before  he  enters  upon  the  duties  of  his 
office  to  declare  upon  oath  that  he  holds  no  office  under  the  committee 
of  a  political  party.  Neither  the  employing  class  nor  the  laboring 
class  shall  be  represented  in  the  commission  by  more  than  one  member 
each,  and  not  more  than  two  commissioners  shall  be  of  the  same  political 
party.    The  commission  elects  its  own  chairman. 

The  commission  is  required  to  be  in  session  during  all  business 
hours,  and  all  sessions  are  open  to  the  public.  At  such  sessions  all 
voting  shall  be  by  roll  call  and  the  vote  of  each  commissioner  shall  be 
recorded. 

The  act  forbids  an  employer  "to  permit  employees  to  go  or  be  in 
any  employment  or  place  of  employment  which  is  not  safe"  and  re- 
quires him  "to  adopt  and  use  methods  and  processes,  follow  and  obey 
orders,  and  prescribe  hours  of  labor  reasonably  adequate  to  render 
such  employment  and  place  of  employment  safe,"  and  to  do  "every 
other  thing  reasonably  necessary  to  protect  the  health,  safety,  and 
welfare  of  such  employees  and  frequenters." 

The  clauses  of  the  Ohio  act  which  specify  in  detail  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  commission  are  more  inclusive  than  those  of  the  Wisconsin  act. 
The  Ohio  commission  is  directed  to  enforce  all  laws  relating  to  manu- 
facturing establishments,  mines,  "buildings  used  for  the  betterment 
of  the  people  of  the  state,"  building  operations,  hours  of  labor,  means 
of  egress  from  buildings,  explosives,  employment  of  women  and  min- 
ors, child  labor  and  school  attendance.  The  parts  italicized  indicate 
additions  to  the  Wisconsin  act.  Several  places  of  employment  such  as 
cigar  factories,  bakeries,  telegraph  offices  and  launderies  are  specifically 
enumerated  in  the  act.  In  Ohio  the  commission  also  has  the  power 
to  fix  hours  of  labor  reasonable  and  adequate  to  the  protection  of  the 
life,  health,  safety  and  welfare  of  employees.  It  is  also  empowered  to 
license,  after  examination,  persons  to  act  as  steam  engineers  and  oper- 
ators of  steam  boilers.  Aside  from  these  provisions  the  powers  of  the 
commission  in  Ohio  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  commission  in 
Wisconsin. 

In  the  matter  of  rehearings  the  Ohio  law  follows  the  Wisconsin 
act.  In  the  case  of  court  review,  however,  it  is  provided  that  the  su- 
preme court  of  the  state  shall  have  original  jurisdiction  in  all  actions 
brought  to  set  aside  a  rule  or  order  of  the  commission. 

The  New  York  Department  of  Labor. 

The  re-organization  of  the  department  of  labor  in  New  York  came 
as  the  result  of  the  report  of  the  "Factory  Investigating  Commission" 
which  was  created  to  investigate  the  conditions  under  which  manu- 
factures were  carried  on  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class  in  the 
state.  This  commission  recommended  a  plan  whereby  the  rule-making 
power,  in  matters  of  labor  control,  should  be  vested  in  a  board  and 
should  remain  separate  from  the  power  of  enforcement,  which  should 
be  exercised  by  the  commissioner  of  labor. 

The  act  of  1913  places  at  the  head  of  the  re-organized  department 
a  commissioner  of  labor  appointed  for  a  term  of  four  years  by  the 
governor,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate.  This  officer  re- 
ceives a  salary  of  $8,000  a  year.     Serving  under  the  commissioner  are 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


93 


first  and  second  deputy  commissioners  appointed  by  him  and  holding 
their  offices  during  his  pleasure.  In  case  of  absence  or  disability  of  the 
commissioner  the  first  deputy  exercises  all  the  powers  of  the  commis- 
sioner save  that  of  appointment.  The  commissioner  also  has  power  to 
appoint  all  officers,  'clerks,  and  other  employees  save  as  otherwise  pro- 
vided in  the  statute.  Special  provision  is  made  for  the  appointment, 
by  the  commissioner,  of  an  attorney  who  shall  act  as  counsel  for  the 
department. 

Under  the  act  bureaus  of  inspection,  mediation  and  arbitration, 
statistics  and  information  and  industries  and  immigration  are  erected. 
Such  other  bureaus  may  be  established  by  the  commissioner  as  that 
officer  deems  necessary. 

The  general  power  of  administering  oaths,  taking  afifidavits  and 
issuing  orders  in  accordance  with  the  act,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
commissioner,  vests  in  every  administrative  officer  of  the  commission, 
and  their  rights  of  interrogation  and  investigation  are  not  to  be 
hindered  or  obstructed  by  any  person. 

The  law  provides  for  an  industrial  board  to  be  composed  of  four 
associate  members,  appointed  by  the  governor,  with  the  commissioner 
of  labor  as  ex-officio  chairman.  Associate  members  are  appointed  for 
four  years  and  receive  annual  salaries  of  $3,000.  The  board  may  ap- 
point and  remove  its  own  clerical  stafif  and  m.ay  call  upon  the  counsel 
of  the  department  of  labor  to  give  necessary  legal  advice.  The  industrial 
board  holds  regular  meetings  once  each  month  and  all  such  -  other 
meetings  "as  the  needs  of  public  service  may  require."  All  meetings 
are  to  be  open  to  the  public. 

The  board  has  the  power  to  investigate  all  matters  "touching  the 
enforcement  and  effect  of  the  provisions  of  thisvchapter  and  the  rules 
and  regulations  made  by  the  board  thereunder,"  to  require  the  attend- 
ance of  witnesses  and  the  production  of  books,  to  administer  oaths 
and  take  affidavits.  It  is  entrusted  with  power  to  make  rules  for  the 
carrying  into  effect  of  this  act,  applying  the  provisions  of  the  act  to 
specific  conditions.  More  specifically  the  board  has  power  to  make 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  construction,  equipment  and  maintenance 
of  places  of  employment,  for  the  arrangement  and  guarding  of  machin- 
ery, for  the  methods  and  operations  by  which  trades  and  occupations 
are  conducted  and  for  the  conduct  of  employes  and  other  persons  about 
factory  buildings  and  mercantile  establishments.  These  regulations 
of  the  commission  are  to  be  adopted  and  enforced  in  the  light  of  the 
intent  of  the  law  that  all  "places  to  which  this  chapter  is  applicable  shall 
be  so  constructed  as  to  provide  reasonable  and  adequate  protection  for 
the  lives,  health  and  safety  of  all  persons  employed  therein."  The  act 
provides  that : 

"The  rules  and  regulations  adopted  by  the  board  pursuant  to  the 
provisions  of  this  chapter  shall  have  the  force  and  efifect  of  law  and 
shall  be  enforced  in  the  same  manner  as  the  provisions  of  this  chapter. 
Such  rules  and  regulations  may  apply  in  whole  or  in  part  to  particular 
kinds  of  factories  or  workshops,  or  to  particular  machines,  apparatus 
or  articles ;  or  to  particular  processes,  industries,   trades  or  occupa- 


94  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

tions ;  and  they  may  be  limited  in  their  application  to  factories  or 
workshops  to  be  established,  or  to  machines,  apparatus  or  other  arti- 
cles to  be  installed  or  provided  in  the  future." 

In  a  number  of  places  throughout  the  New  York  law  there  are 
further  specific  grants  of  power  to  the  board  to  make  regulations  re- 
garding elevators,  the  construction  of  factory  buildings,  the  guarding 
of  machinery,  and  regarding  especially  dangerous  occupations.  The 
New  York  law  is  detailed  and  the  power  of  the  board  is  almost  entirely 
that  of  making  supplementary  rules  or  rules  for  matters  not  already 
covered  by  statute.  With  regard  to  elevators  for  example  the  statute 
is  somewhat  detailed,  and  then  provides  that  the  industrial  board  "shall 
have  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations  not  inconsistent  with  the 
provisions  of  this  chapter"  regarding  elevators.  The  rule-making  power 
of  the  New  York  industrial  board  is  more  limited  than  that  of  the 
Wisconsin  industrial  commission.  There  is  no  provision  in  the  New 
York  statute  as  to  the  manner  of  testing  the  legality  of  rules  made 
by  the  industrial  board. 

The  bureau  of  inspection  which  is  created  by  the  law  is  divided 
into  four  "divisions,"  factory  inspection,  homework  inspection,  mer- 
cantile inspection  and  industrial  hygiene.  Each  of  these  divisions  is 
under  the  direct  control  of  a  division  chief.  The  first  deputy  commis- 
sioner is  the  inspector  general  for  the  state  and  is  in  charge  of  the 
work  of  the  first  three  divisions  subject  to  the  directions  of  the  com- 
missioner. The  division  of  industrial  hygiene  is  under  the  direct  control 
of  the  commissioner.  Should  it  appear  that  new  divisions  are  necessary 
the  commissioner  is  empowered  to  create  them. 

Under  the  chief  of  the  division  of  factory  inspection  there  are 
seven  grades  of  inspectors  each  with  special  duties  to  perform.  Many 
of  these  inspectors  are  required  to  possess  special  qualifications.  The 
inspectors  are  charged  with  the  visitation  of  all  factories  in  the  inspec- 
tion divisions  to  which  they  are  assigned  and  are  empowered  to  enforce 
the  provisions  of  the  act  in  all  such  factories.  They  are  also  charged 
with  the  enforcement,  jointly  with  municipal  authorities,  of  all  munici- 
pal ordinances  regulating  labor,  if  such  ordinances  are  not  in  conflict 
with  the  provisions  of  the  act. 

The  mercantile  inspectors  may  be  divided  into  three  grades  and 
are  required  to  perform  the  same  duties  of  visitation  and  enforcement 
in  mercantile  establishments  as  the  factory  inspectors  in  their  field. 

The  bureau  of  statistics  and  information  is  directed  by  a  chief 
statistician,  under  the  supervision  of  the  commissioner  of  labor.  The 
bureau  has  five  divisions :  general  labor  statistics,  industrial  directory, 
industrial  accidents  and  diseases,  special  investigation,  and  printing 
and  publication.  The  division  of  industrial  directory  is  requred  to 
prepare  annually  a  directory  of  all  the  cities  and  villages  with  a  popula- 
tion of  over  1,000,  which  shall  contain  information  concerning  the 
hours,  wages  and  conditions  of  labor  and  whatever  intelligence  regard- 
ing the  opportunities  for  labor  or  industry  in  such  city  or  village  as 
may  be  obtainable.  The  other  divisions  of  the  bureau  have  the  func- 
tions which  are  indicated  by  the  name  of  the  division  in  each  case. 


LABOR   AND    MINING. 


95 


The  Pennsylvania  Department  of  Labor. 

In  1913  Pennsylvania  created  a  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry. 
The  new  department  is  modeled  after  the  New  York  Department  of 
Labor.  The  Governor,  with  the  consent  of  the  Senate,  appoints  a 
commissioner  of  labor  and  industry,  who  is  the  administrative  head 
of  the  department  and  who  is  charged  with  the  responsibility  of 
executing  the  labor  laws  of  the  state.  He  is  authorized  to  appoint  and 
remove  at  pleasure  all  officers,  clerks,  and  other  officers  of  the  depart- 
ment, except  as  provided  in  the  act.  He  is  a  member  of  the  industrial 
board  and  serves  in  the  capacity  of  chairman  of  that  body.  He  is 
also  in  immediate  charge  of  the  division  of  industrial  hygiene — a 
division  of  the  bureau  of   inspection. 

The  department  is  divided  into  three  bureaus,  but  this  number  may 
be  increased  by  the  commissioner  with  the  consent  of  the  Governor. 
The  bureaus  established  by  the  act  are:  the  bureau  of  inspection,  the 
bureau  of  statistics  and  information  and  the  bureau  of  arbitration. 

At  the  head  of  the  bureau  of  inspection  is  a  chief  inspector,  ap- 
pointed by  the  commissioner.  This  officer  may  in  the  absence  of  the 
commissioner  exercise  all  the  powers  of  that  officer  save  that  of  appoint- 
ment. He  has  full  charge,  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the  commis- 
sioner, of  all  inspections  made  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
the  act. 

The  bureau  of  statistics  and  information  is  in  charge  of  a  chief, 
appointed  by  and  working  under  the  direction  of  the  commissioner. 
The  act  provides  in  considerable  detail  what  the  fields  of  investigation 
shall  be.  Particular  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  duty  of  the  bureau 
to  investigate  the  welfare  of  aliens,  to  gather  information  concerning 
the  labor  supply  furnished  by  aliens,  to  ascertain  for  what  employments 
they  are  best  fitted,  and  to  place  them  in  communication  with  employ- 
ments requiring  labor. 

The  bureau  of  mediation  and  arbitration  is  in  charge  of  a  chief 
appointed  in  the  same  manner  as  indicated  above.  In  case  of  a  strike 
the  chief  shall  offer  mediation.  If  this  is  rejected  he  is  to  use  his 
best  efforts  to  bring  about  voluntary  arbitration  of  the  questions  in- 
volved. Under  the  act,  in  cases  of  voluntary  arbitration  the  employer 
selects  one  member  of  the  arbitration  board,  the  employee  another,  and 
the  two  choose  a  third.  In  case  the  two  fail  to  select  the  third  member 
within  five  days  the  chief  of  the  bureau  becomes  a  member  and  shall 
act  as  chairman. 

The  Pennsylvania  law,  like  that  of  New  York,  provides  for  the 
establishment  of  an  industrial  board.  This  board  is  to  consist  of  the 
commissioner  and  four  associate  members,  appointed  by  the  Governor 
with  the  consent  of  the  senate,  "one  of  whom  shall  be  an  employer, 
one  a  wage  earner,  and  one  a  woman."  The  associate  members  receive 
a  per  diem.  The  board  may  appoint  a  secretary  who  shall  be  paid  a 
salary  fixed  by  the  board. 

The  industrial  board  is  vested  with  the  power  of  investigating, 
either  as  a  board  or  as  individuals,  "all  matters  touching  the  enforce- 
ment of  laws,  the  enforcement  of  which  is  entrusted  to  the  department, 


96  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

and  tlic  rules  and  regulations  of  the  industrial  board  in  connection 
therewith."  Its  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations  is  conferred  in  the 
following  language : 

"All  rooms,  buildings,  and  places  in  this  commonwealth  where 
labor  is  employed,  or  shall  hereafter  be  employed,  shall  be  so  con- 
structed, equipped,  and  arranged,  operated  and  conducted,  in  all  re- 
spects, as  to  provide  reasonable  and  adequate  protection  for  the  Hfe, 
health,  safety,  and  morals  of  all  persons  employed  therein.  For  the 
carrying  into  effect  of  this  provision,  and  the  provisions  of  all  the 
laws  of  this  commonwealth,  the  enforcement  of  which  is  now  or  shall 
hereafter  be  entrusted  to  or  imposed  upon  the  commissioner  or  depart- 
ment of  labor  and  industry,  the  industrial  board  shall  have  power  to 
make,  alter,  amend  and  repeal  general  rules  and  regulations  necessary 
for  applying  such  provisions  to  specific  conditions,  and  to  prescribe 
means,  methods,  and  practices  to  carry  into  efTect  and  enforce  such 
provisions." 

The  rules  and  regulations  made  by  the  board  are  to  be  printed 
in  the  newspapers  and  in  the  bulletins  of  the  department. 

Any  person  interested  may  appeal  to  the  commission  for  a  hearing 
upon  any  order  or  regulation.  The  petition  shall  set  out  in  full  the  rea- 
sons why  the  rule  or  regulation  in  question  is  unreasonable.  The  board 
may  either  grant  the  petition  and  set  a  time  and  place  for  a  hearing  or,  if 
"it  believes  the  issues  raised  in  such  petition  have  been  heretofore  ade- 
quately considered"  merely  confirm  its  previous  determination.  The 
act  makes  no  provisions  for  judicial  review  of  the  final  determinations 
of  the  board. 

The  Pennsylvania  law  provides  that  the  attorney  general  may 
appoint  and  may  remove  an  attorney  who  shall  act  as  counsel  for  the 
department.  The  commissioner  may  employ  additional  counsellors  to 
be  designated  by  the  attorney  general.  In  this  particular  the  Pennsyl- 
vania law  difTers  from  other  laws  examined. 
Massachusetts. 

By  an  act  of  1907,  amended  in  1909,  Massachusetts  provided  for 
the  appointment  of  a  board  of  boiler  rules,  with  power  "to  formulate 
rules  for  the  construction,  installation  and  inspection  of  steam  boilers." 
This  board  was  required  to  hold  hearings  at  certain  stated  times,  and 
to  hold  additional  hearings  after  notice  should  it  deem  it  advisable  to 
change  rules  which  were  already  in  force.  It  was  further  provided  that 
"the  rules  so  formulated  shall  be  submitted  to  the  governor  for  his 
approval."  Tn  1913  a  board  of  elevator  regulations  was  created  with 
powers  similar  to  those  exercised  by  the  board  of  boiler  rules. 

By  legislation  of  1910  the  state  board  of  health  was  authorized  "to 
determine  whether  or  not  any  particular  trade,  process  of  manufacture 
or  occupation  or  any  particular  method  of  carrying  on  such  trade,  proc- 
ess of  manufacture  or  occupation,  is  sufficiently  injurious  to  the  health 
of  minors  under  eighteen  years  of  age  employed  therein  to  justify  their 
exclusion  therefrom,  and  every  decision  so  rendered  shall  be  conclu- 
sive evidence  of  the  facts  involved  therein,  except  as  the  same  may 
later  be  revoked  or  modified  by  a  subsequent  decision  of  the  board." 

'For  operations  under  this  law,  see  American  Labor  Legislation  Review, 
I,  70. 


LAfiOR   AND    MlNINd.  9^ 

An  act  of  1912,  creating  the  board  of  labor  and  industries,  vested 
in  that  board  a  power  "to  make  rules  not  inconsistent  with  existing  law" 
for  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the  act.  An  act  of  1913  vested  in 
this  board  also  the  power  previously  exercised  by  the  state  board  of 
health  with  respect  to  minors  in  dangerous  employments. 

By  the  industrial  compensation  act  of  1911  a  Massachusetts' 
Employees'  Insurance  Association  was  provided  for,  and  this  associa- 
tion was  authorized  to  make  and  enforce  reasonable  rules  and  regula- 
tions for  the  prevention  of  injuries  on  the  premises  of  the  subscribers." 
Appeal  from  such  rules  and  regulations  might  be  taken  to  the  indus- 
trial accident  board,  and  that  body  was  granted  power  "to  affirm,  amend 
or  annul  the  rule  or  regulation." 

The  most  important  step  in  the  direction  of  granting  a  rule  making 
power  was  taken  in  1913,  by  an  act  concerning  the  investigation  and 
prevention  of  occupational  diseases  and  the  prevention  of  accidents  in 
factories.  This  act  provides  that  the  state  board  of  labor  and  indus- 
tries and  the  industrial  accident  board,  sitting  jointly,  shall  have  power 
to  investigate  employments  and  places  of  employment  in  the  state  and 
"determine  what  safety  devices  or  other  reasonable  means  or  require- 
ments for  the  prevention  of  accidents  and  for  the  prevention  of  indus- 
trial or  occupational  diseases  shall  be  adopted  or  followed  in  any  or 
all  employments  or  places  of  employment ;  and  shall  make  reasonable 
rules,  regulations  or  orders  for  the  prevention  of  accidents  and  the 
prevention  of  industrial  or  occupational  diseases."  Such  rules  may 
apply  to  both  the  employer  and  the  employee.  The  joint  board  may 
appoint  committees  of  employers  and  employees  in  any  industry  to  rec- 
ommend rules  which  are  calculated  to  make  the  employees  in  that  indus- 
try safe.  No  rule  or  recommendation  shall  be  adopted  until  a  hearing 
has  been  held  thereon.  The  joint  board  is  empowered  to  make  the 
rules  for  such  hearing  and  to  serve  notice  upon  parties  in  interest. 

The  statute  provides  that  any  rule  or  regulation  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts employees'  insurance  association,  approved  by  the  industrial 
accident  commission,  shall  not  prevail  if  it  conflicts  with  any  of  the 
rules  of  the  joint  board.  The  act  also  requires  the  joint  board  to  make 
arrangements  to  prevent  the  duplication  of  effort  between  the  two 
bodies  that  compose  it. 

The  power  of  administering  the  labor  laws  of  Massachusetts  is 
distributed  among  various  boards,  bureaus  and  departments.  This  has 
resulted  in  a  duplication  of  effort  and  an  overlapping  of  authority,  and 
has  operated  to  defeat  in  part  the  operation  of  the  labor  laws.  An 
attempt  to  remedy  these  faults  by  the  creation  of  a  board  of  labor  and 
industries  in  1912  met  with  little  success.  The  new  board,  so  far  as 
consolidation  of  function  is  concerned,  increased,  rather  than  lessened, 
the  confusion. 

The  following  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  existing  departments  in 
Massachusetts  charged  with  the  execution  of  the  labor  laws :  The 
board  of  conciliation  and  arbitration  is  empowered  to  arbitrate  labor 
disputes  on  application  of  either  party.  Parties  to  such  disputes  may, 
however,  select  other  arbitrators  if  they  so  desire.  The  bureau  of  sta- 
tistics is  charged  with  direction  of  free  employment  offices,  as  well  as 
the  collection  and  publication  of  statistics.    The  minimum  wage  board 


98  EFFICIENCV   AND   ECONOMY   COMMITTEE. 

may  recommend  a  minimum  wage  for  women  or  minors  in  any  occupa- 
tion, but  its  power  of  enforcement  is  limited  to  the  publication  of  the 
names  of  employers  who  do  not  adopt  the  minimum  wage  recommended 
by  the  board.  The  industrial  accident  board  (composed  of  five  mem- 
bers) is  charged  with  administration  of  the  workmen's  compensation 
law  and  has  power  to  review  the  rules  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
Massachusetts  employees'  insurance  association.  The  board  of  health 
is  charged  with  a  number  of  laws  regarding  industrial  health  condi- 
tions. The  board  of  labor  and  industries  (also  composed  of  five  mem- 
bers) is  charged  with  the  inspection  of  factories,  the  enforcement  of 
various  laws  relating  to  the  employment  of  women  and  children,  the 
inspections  of  buildings  used  for  industrial  purposes,  and  the  investiga- 
tion of  complaints  concerning  labor  conditions.  Some  of  the  former 
powers  of  the  state  board  of  health  as  well  as  those  of  the  inspection 
department  of  the  district  police  were  vested  in  the  board.  Express 
provision  was  made,  however,  for  the  retention  of  the  powers  of  build- 
ing inspection  and  boiler  inspection  by  the  district  police. 

California. 

In  1913  California  adopted  an  act  creating  an  "industrial  welfare 
commission."  This  act  provides  for  a  board  of  three  persons  appointed 
by  the  governor  for  a  term  of  four  years  at  a  salary  of  $5,000  a  year. 
The  act  divides  into  two  parts,  the  first  dealing  with  workmen's  com- 
pensation and  with  the  administration  of  the  "state  compensation 
insurance  fund,"  the  second  dealing  with  the  regulation  of  conditions 
of  labor  in  the  state.  The  administration  of  both  parts  of  the  act  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  commission.  All  other  labor  matters  are  outside  the 
scope  of  the  commission's  authority. 

Full  power  is  given  the  commission  to  appoint  an  attorney,  a  sec- 
retary and  necessary  assistants,  a  manager  of  the  state  compensation 
insurance  fund,  a  superintendtent  of  the  department  of  safety,  and 
whatever  other  assistants,  experts,  statisticians,  referees  and  other 
officers  it  may  consider  necessary  to  carry  out  the  duties  and  exercise 
the  powers  vested  in  it.  All  the  officers  and  employees  of  the  Com- 
mission "shall  receive  such  compensation  for  their  services  as  may 
be  fixed  by  the  Commission,  shall  hold  their  offices  during  the  pleasure 
of  the  board  and  shall  perform  such  duties  as  may  be  imposed  on  them 
by  law  or  by  the  Commission."  The  Commission  has  power  to  appor- 
tion the  money  at  its  command  among  its  several  departments  as  their 
needs  may  demand. 

In  its  capacity  as  administrator  of  the  compensation  law  the  Com- 
mission is  vested  with  authority  to  hear  and  determine  all  cases,  and 
with  all  the  other  powers  necessary  for  the  carrying  into  effect  of  its 
decisions  and  awards.  The  board  may  grant  rehearings  upon  applica- 
tion in  proper  form  and  in  all  cases  its  final  determination  of  the  ques- 
tions presented  is  subject  to  court  review. 

Under  the  safety  provisions  of  the  act  the  Commission  is  vested 
with  full  power  and  jurisdiction  over  every  employment  and  place  of 
employment  in  the  state,  and  is  charged  with  the  administration  of  all 
laws  rendering  such  employments  or  places  of  employment  safe  for  the 
employees  therein.    To  carry  out  this  duty  the  Commission  is  empow- 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  99 

ered,  after  hearing  upon  its  own  motion  or  upon  complaint,  to  fix  rea- 
sonable standards  of  safety  and  to  enforce  their  adoption,  to  prescribe 
such  safety  devices  as  are  adapted  to  render  employes  in  every  employ- 
ment safe,  to  fix  the  standards  of  construction  and  repair,  and  to  require 
the  performance  of  any  other  act  necessary  to  the  safeguarding  of  the 
employees  in  any  employment.  Furthermore,  the  Commission  has  the 
power,  after  hearing  to  order  the  installation  of  such  repairs  or 
improvements  as  it  may  consider  necessary  in  any  place  of  employment. 
All  orders  of  the  Commission  "in  conformity  with  law  are  prime  facie 
lawful  and  all  its  rules  and  regulations,  decisions,  orders  or  awards  are 
conclusively  presumed  to  be  reasonable  till  set  aside  by  the  commission 
upon  rehearing  or  by  the  courts  upon  review." 

The  Commission  is  given  power  to  establish  museums  of  safety 
and  hygiene,  and  to  cause  bulletins  to  be  printed  and  lectures  to  be 
delivered  dealing  with  prevention  of  accidents,  occupational  diseases, 
and  related  subjects.  It  may  appoint  advisers  who  shall  aid  in  fixing 
standards  of  safety.  Fines  levied  for  failure  to  comply  with  orders  of 
the  Commission  shall  be  paid  into  an  "accident  prevention  fund." 

In  the  matter  of  hearings  the  commission  shall  have  full  power  to 
prescribe  rules  of  procedure,  to  provide  for  the  appearance  of  minors 
and  incompetents,  and  to  appoint  guardians  ad  litem.  The  commission 
is  further  empowered  to  appoint  referees  either  for  the  complete  trial 
of  all  issues,  whether  of  fact  or  of  law,  or  "for  the  ascertaining  of  a 
particular  fact  necessary  to  the  commission  to  determine  any  proceed- 
ing before  it."  The  findings  of  the  referee  in  such  instances  shall  be 
filed  with  the  commission  within  twenty  days  and  the  commission  may 
then  "adopt,  modify  or  set  aside  the  same  or  any  part  thereof." 

The  grant  of  power  to  the  Commission  closes  with  the  general  pro- 
vision that  "The  commission  is  hereby  vested  with  full  power,  author- 
ity and  jurisdiction  to  do  all  things,  whether  herein  specifically  desig- 
nated or  in  addition  thereto,  which  are  necessary  or  convenient  in  the 
exercise  of  any  power  or  authority  or  jurisdiction  conferred  upon  it  by 
this  act." 

Any  party  aggrieved  by  any  rule,  regulation,  order,  or  decision  of 
the  commission  may  apply  to  it  for  a  rehearing.  The  application  must 
set  forth  in  full  detail  the  grounds  upon  which  the  rehearing  is  sought 
and  the  applicant  is  "deemed  to  have  waived  all  objections,  irregulari- 
ties or  illegalities  concerning  the  matter  upon  which  such  rehearing  is 
sought  other  than  those  set  forth  in  the  application  for  such  rehearing." 
The  application  must  be  filed  within  twenty  days  after  decision  upon 
the  hearing  has  been  rendered  and  must  be  based  on  one  or  more  of  the 
following  grounds:  "(1)  That  the  Commission  acted  without  or  in 
excess  of  its  authority;  (2)  that  the  order  or  decision  was  procured  by 
fraud;  (3)  that  the  order,  rule,  regulation  is  unreasonable." 

This  motion  f  pr  rehearing  is  a  condition  precedent  to  review  by  the 
courts.  The  filing  of  an  application  automatically  works  a  ten  days' 
suspension  of  the  order  in  question,  and  this  time  may  be  extended  by 
the  commission  if  it  sees  fit.  Within  thirty  days  after  the  rehearing 
has  been  denied,  or  if  granted  within  thirty  days  after  the  rendering  of 
a  decision  upon  rehearing,  "any  person  affected  thereby  may  apply  to 


ICX)  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

the  supreme  court  or  to  the  district  court  of  appeal  of  the  appellate 
division  in  which  such  person  resides  for  a  writ  of  certiorari  or  review 
for  the  purpose  of  having  the  lawfulness  of  the  order,  decision,  rule  or 
regulation  on  rehearing-  examined  into  and  determined." 

Review  by  the  court  is  limited  to  the  investigation  of  the  power  of 
the  commission,  fraud,  the  reasonableness  of  the  order,  rule  or  regula- 
tion in  question,  and,  if  findings  of  fact  are  made,  whether  such  findings 
support  the  decision  or  award  reviewed.  The  pendency  of  a  writ  of 
review  does  not  of  itself  suspend  the  order  of  the  commission,  but  the 
court  has  discretionary  power  "to  suspend  or  stay  the  order,  rule  or 
regulation  in  whole  or  in  part." 

The  California  legislature,  in  1913,  also  passed  an  act  creating  an 
"industrial  welfare  commission."  This  commission  is  composed  of 
five  persons,  one  of  whom  is  a  woman,  appointed  by  the  governor,  for 
a  term  of  four  years.  The  members  receive  no  salary  but  are  allowed 
ten  dollars  a  day  and  expenses  when  in  attendance  at  commission  ses- 
sions. The  board  is  empowered  to  choose  its  own  employes,  who  are 
under  its  direction  and  hold  ofBce  at  its  pleasure. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to  investigate  the  wages  paid,  the 
hours  of  employment,  and  the  health,  safety  and  comfort  of  all  women 
and  minors  in  the  various  trades,  occupations  and  industries,  "whose 
compensation  for  labor  is  measured  by  time,  piece  or  otherwise."  To 
assist  the  Commission  in  such  investigations  all  employers  are  directed 
to  furnish  information,  to  permit  investigation  of  books  and  inspection 
of  plants  and  to  keep  a  register  of  all  women  and  minors  employed. 
Under  the  act  a  minor  is  defined  as  a  person  of  either  sex  under  the 
age  of  eighteen  years. 

If,  after  the  investigation  of  a  particular  industry,  it  is  the  opinion 
of  the  commission  that  the  hours  or  conditions  of  labor  are  unsatisfac- 
tory or  that  the  "wages  paid  to  women  and  minors  are  insufficient  to 
supply  the  cost  of  proper  living,"  the  Commission  may  call  an  equal 
number  of  the  employers  and  of  the  employes  in  the  occupation  under 
discussion  to  pass  upon  the  questions  involved.  This  conference  is 
known  as  the  "wage  board."  The  number,  composition  and  procedure 
of  the  board  is  fixed  by  the  commission,  one  member  of  which  acts  as 
chairman.  The  board,  if  so  directed  by  the  commission,  shall  report: 
(1)  an  estimate  of  the  adequate  minimum  wage,  (2)  the  maximum 
hours  of  labor,  and  (3)  the  conditions  of  labor  in  the  industr}^  under 
investigation,  consistent  with  the  health,  safety  and  comfort  of  the 
women  and  minors  employed.  The  commission  is  empowered  to  use 
the  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  wage  board  as  evidence  in  a  hear- 
ing before  it,  and  after  such  hearing  may  accept  or  reject  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  board. 

The  Commission  has  the  power  to  fix  the  time  and  place  of  any 
hearing.  Notice  of  such  hearing  is  made  by  publication  in  one  news- 
paper in  San  Francisco,  Los  Angeles  and  Sacramento  and  by  filing  a 
notice  with  the  recorder  of  each  county  in  the  state. 

After  the  hearing,  the  Commission  has  the  power  to  fix  the  mini- 
mum wage,  the  maximum  hours  and  the  standard  conditions  necessary 
to  "the  health  and  welfare  uf  the  ^\■omen  and  minors  employed  in  any 


LABOR   AND    MINING.  101 

occupation,  trade  or  industry  in  the  state."  Any  such  decision  or  order 
of  the  Commission  becomes  effective  after  sixty  days.  Notice  of  the 
decisions  or  orders  of  the  Commission  is  given  in  the  same  manner  as 
is  notice  of  the  hearing,  with  the  added  requirement  that  a  copy  be 
sent  to  the  commissioner  of  labor.  The  orders  are  under  the  continu- 
ing control  of  the  commission  and  may  be  altered  or  rescinded  by  it  at 
any  time 

Any  party  aggrieved  by  a  decision  or  order  of  the  Commission  may 
begin  an  action  in  the  superior  court  of  the  city  and  county  of  San 
Francisco,  or  in  the  superior  courts  in  and  for  the  counties  of  Los 
Angeles  or  Sacramento.  A  complaint  setting  forth  the  grounds  on 
which  court  review  is  sought  is  served,  together  with  the  summons, 
upon  the  Commission.  The  Commission  shal  then  return  to  court  a 
record  of  all  the  testimony  taken  at  the  hearing,  together  with  a  certi- 
fied copy  of  its  findings  and  determinations.  Upon  review  the  court 
shall  affirm  or  set  aside  the  order  or  decision  of  the  Commission,  but 
the  "same  shall  be  set  aside  only  on  the  following  grounds :  ( 1 )  That 
the  Commission  acted  without  or  in  excess  of  its  authority ;  (2)  that  the 
determination  of  the  Commission  was  procured  by  fraud."  The  Com- 
mission or  any  other  party  in  interest  in  the  suit  may  appeal  from  the 
decision  of  the  superior  court. 

The  California  industrial  accident  commission  law  is  notable 
because  of  the  power  of  internal  organization  and  control  which  it 
places  in  the  hands  of  the  commission.  In  matters  of  appointment,  com- 
pensation of  employees,  and  duration  of  their  service  the  commission 
has  been  given  free  rein.  This  flexibility  of  the  law  is  best  illustrated 
by  the  discretion  allowed  the  commission  to  appropriate  the  funds  put 
at  the  disposal  of  one  of  its  departments  to  the  use  of  another  if  it 
appears  necessary.  Another  feature  of  the  California  plan  that  should 
not  be  overlooked  is  that  it  concentrates  the  administration  of  work- 
men's compensation  and  the  regulation  of  the  conditions  of  labor  in  a 
single  board. 

This  union  of  the  compensation  and  the  safety  provisions,  how- 
ever, marks  the  limit  of  consolidation  accomplished  by  the  California 
law.  There  is  no  complete  centralization  of  labor  control  in  the  hands 
of  the  commission.  In  addition  to  the  industrial  welfare  board,  which 
in  reality  shares  the  field  of  the  industrial  accident  commission,  there 
is  a  board  of  arbitration  and  conciliation,  a  public  employment  bureau, 
and  a  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  The  latter  is  under  the  direction  of  a 
commissioner  of  labor  whose  duties  overlap  those  of  the  commissions  at 
some  points.  This  officer  is  charged  with  overseeing  private  employ- 
ment bureaus,  with  supervision  over  the  payment  of  wages  of  seasonal 
labor,  and  with  certain  powers  of  inspection.  He  is  also  entrusted  with 
the  enforcement  of  labor  regulations  made  directly  by  the  legislature. 
The  want  of  a  combined  power  of  regulation  and  enforcement  in  a 
single  body,  together  with  the  absence  of  a  centralization  of  the  various 
labor  services,  menaces  the  effectiveness  of  the  whole  California  system. 

Another  danger  in  the  California  laws  lies  in  the  wide  power  of 
mandatory  order  and  regulation  residing  in  the  commissions,  coupled 
with  a  limited  scope  for  court  review.     This  is  most  apparent  in  the 


102  EFFICIENCY    AND    ECONOMY    COMMITTEE. 

case  of  the  welfare  coniniission.  Here  notice  of  hearing  is  given  by 
newspaper  publication,  and  court  review  goes  to  the  method  by  which 
the  determination  is  reached  rather  than  to  the  subject  matter  of  such 
determination. 

The  Oregon  Welfare  Commission. 

The  Oregon  welfare  commission  law,  which  was  adopted  in  1913, 
follows  closely  the  provisions  of  the  California  act  creating  a  similar 
commission.  The  Oregon  commission  consists  of  three  persons, 
appointed  by  the  governor,  for  a  term  of  three  years.  The  governor  is 
directed,  in  selecting  the  commission  to  choose  one  commissioner  who 
shall  represent  the  employing  class  and  one  who  shall  represent  the 
employed  class ;  the  third  commissioner  shall  be  a  representative  of  the 
public  and  shall  be  "fair  and  impartial  between  the  employers  and  the 
employees."  The  commission  shall  elect  its  chairman  and  select  its  sec- 
retary each  year.  "All  expenses  and  expenditures  of  the  commission 
are  to  be  audited  and  paid  as  other  state  expenses  are  audited  and  paid." 

The  commission  is  charged  with  making  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  control  of  the  employment  of  women  and  minors  in  the  state,  and 
is  authorized  to  ascertain  and  declare  standard  hours  of  labor,  standard 
conditions  of  labor  and  standards  of  minimum  wages  for  "all  women 
and  minors  in  any  occupation  within  the  state."  It  is  vested  with  pow- 
ers of  investigation  similar  to  those  of  the  California  welfare  commis- 
sion. 

After  investigation,  if  conditions  in  any  industry  are  found  to  be 
unsatisfactory,  the  commission  may  call  a  "conference"  similar  to  the 
California  "wage  board."  The  Oregon  law  provides,  however,  that 
the  conference  shall  be  composed  of  "not  more  than  three  representa- 
tives of  the  employers  and  of  an  equal  number  of  the  employees  in  said 
occupation,  and  of  not  more  than  three  disinterested  persons  represent- 
ing the  public,  and  of  one  or  more  commissioners."  The  commission 
appoints  one  of  the  members  of  the  conference  to  serve  as  chairman. 
The  conference  may  be  directed  to  report  upon  the  same  questions  as 
the  California  "wage  board,"  and  the  recommendations  may  be 
approved  or  disapproved  in  whole  or  in  part  by  the  commission.  The 
conference,  in  addition  to  the  minimum  wage  for  time  work,  may  report 
on  the  minimum  piece  rate  for  work  of  that  character. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  report  of  the  conference  the  com- 
mission shall  set  a  time  and  place  for  a  hearing  and  give  notice  of  such 
hearing  "by  publication  in  not  less  than  two  newspapers  of  general 
circulation  published  in  Multnomah  county."  After  the  hearing  the 
commission  may  issue  its  decision  in  rules,  regulations  or  orders  as  in 
California.  The  commission  is  empowered  to  make  different  rules  or 
orders  for  the  same  occupation  in  different  sections  of  the  state  if  such 
a  difference  is  justified  by  conditions  existing  in  various  localities.  The 
commission  is  directed,  as  far  as  possible,  to  mail  a  copy  of  its  orders 
to  "all  employers  in  the  occupation  affected  thereby." 

In  the  matter  of  appeal  from  the  decisions  of  the  commission  Ore- 
gon has  allowed  a  wider  judicial  review  than  exists  under  the  Califor- 
nia law.     "All  qustions  of  fact  arising  under  the  foregoing  provisions 


LABOR  AND    MINING.  l03 

of  this  act  shall,  except  as  otherwise  herein  provided,  be  determined  by 
said  commission,  and  there  shall  be  no  appeal  from  the  decision  of  said 
commission  on  any  such  question  of  fact :  but  there  shall  be  a  right  of 
appeal  from  said  commission  to  the  circuit  court  of  the  state  of  Ore- 
gon for  Multnomah  County  from  any  ruling  or  holding  on  a  question  of 
law  included  in  or  embodied  in  any  decision  or  order  of  said  commis- 
sion, and,  on  the  same  question  of  law,  from  the  said  circuit  court  to 
the  supreme  court  of  the  state  of  Oregon.  In  all  such  appeals  the 
attorney  general  shall  appear  for  and  represent  said  commission." 

Kansas  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry. 

Previous  to  1913  the  enforcement  of  labor  laws  and  the  regulation 
of  the  conditions  of  labor  in  Kansas  were  entrusted  to  the  State  Soci- 
ety of  Labor  and  to  the  State  Association  of  Miners,  each  composed 
of  local  labor  groups.  The  elected  secretaries  of  these  organizations 
served  respectively  as  ex-officio  commissioner  of  labor  and  as  ex-of(icio 
state  mine  inspector.  There  was  also  a  free  employment  bureau,  the 
director  of  which  was  appointed  by  the  governor. 

The  functions  exercised  by  these  three  departments  were  consol- 
idated in  1913  by  the  creation  of  a  Department  of  Labor  and  Industry. 
A  commissioner  of  labor  and  industry  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
department  with  the  combined  functions  of  state  factory  inspector,  state 
mine  inspector  and  director  of  free  employment.  For  this  office  and 
for  the  principal  subordinate  positions  in  the  department  there  are 
age,  residence  and  experience  qualifications. 

The  commissioner  of  labor  and  industry  is  charged  with  the 
appointment  of  an  assistant  commissioner,  who  shall  be  experienced  in 
mining  affairs ;  two  deputy  state  factory  inspectors,  one  of  whom  shall 
have  had  practical  experience  in  building,  the  other  a  woman  experi- 
enced in  matters  pertaining  to  female  labor ;  a  free  employment  bureau 
clerk ;  and  such  other  assistants,  agents  and  office  help  as  he  may  con- 
sider necessary.  The  salaries  of  all  appointees  are  fixed  by  statute, 
but  all  employees  are  under  the  direction  of  the  commissioner  and  "hold 
their  offices  during  his  pleasure." 

The  duties  of  the  commissioner  are:  (1)  to  make  statistical 
reports  of  labor  and  trade  conditions,  (2)  enforce  the  laws  regulating 
the  employment  of  women  and  minors,  (3)  enforce  all  laws  made  for 
the  promotion  of  health  and  safety  of  laborers.  He  is  invested  with 
the  usual  powers  of  interrogation,  investigation,  inspection  and  of 
examining  witnesses.  When  the  commissioner  finds  that  the  precau- 
tions for  safeguarding  employees  in  any  employment  are  unsatisfactory 
"he  shall  notify,  in  writing,  the  owner,  proprietor,  or  agent  of  such 
workshop  or  factory  to  make,  within  thirty  days,  the  alterations  or  addi- 
tions to  him  deemed  necessary  for  the  safety  and  protection  of  the 
employees." 

In  his  capacity  as  state  mine  inspector  he  may  order  changes  neces- 
sary to  the  safety  of  the  laborers  to  be  made  immediately,  and  in  case 
of  imminent  danger  he  may  order  the  suspension  of  mining  operations 
until  his  demands  have  been  complied  with.  Failure  to  obey  his  instruc- 
tions is  punishable  by  fine  "levied  by  any  court  of  competent  jurisdic- 
tion." 


104  EFFICIENCY  AND  ECONOMY  COMMITTEE. 

Interest  in  the  Kansas  plan  centers  in  the  concentration  of  adminis- 
trative authority  in  the  hands  of  the  commissioner.  The  statute,  how- 
ever, fixes  the  definite  limits  of  his  powers  and  duties  and  beyond  these 
he  cannot  go.  He  has  no  discretionary  power  to  add  offices  other  than 
those  provided  for  in  the  act,  nor  to  reorganize  the  department  with- 
out the  express  authorization  of  the  legislature.  He  has  no  power  to 
make  regulations,  and  must  enforce  the  specific  terms  of  the  law  as  laid 
down  in  the  statute. 


3 


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